


The Twelve Days of No. 6

by canaggable



Category: No. 6 (Anime & Manga), No. 6 - All Media Types, No. 6 - Asano Atsuko
Genre: Chaptered, Christmas Fluff, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Happy Ending, M/M, Nezushi - Freeform, One True Pairing, Original Character(s), Originally Posted on FanFiction.Net, holiday fluff, long chapters, otp
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-30
Updated: 2017-10-14
Packaged: 2018-10-26 00:43:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 37,565
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10775916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/canaggable/pseuds/canaggable
Summary: Christmas is here at last... No. 6 style!As the days get shorter and colder and sources of heat are harder to come by, Shion forgets all about Christmas, but Nezumi doesn't...? A sweet, Christmas-themed story where fluffy snuggles, a loving couple, and some fun angst ensues. Rated T because I'm paranoid(aren't we all?).





	1. Christmas Day

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this a few years back during the actual holiday seasons and posted it on fanfiction.net, so I'm moving it over here, probably one chapter a week (i'm lying to myself i'll update whenever I remember i'm so sorry). There are 12 chapters total to look forward to. :)  
> Hope you enjoy~

Snow. Pure white snow. For the moment, it was sparkling in the moonlight as it spiraled down from the sky. To Shion, it seemed as though each snowflake came down in pairs instead of individually. Over there was one snowflake dancing around another as though they were celebrating, and then falling less than an inch away from Shion's nose, tinted red from the cold, was a pair of snowflakes that floated down to the earth right beside each other, neither of them even so much as a millimeter ahead or behind the other.

He knew that, soon enough, the freshly fallen snow would be trampled by hundreds of people, some of them only slightly cleaner than mud, and then it would turn into brown slush. But for now, it was glistening in the silver shafts of light, untainted.

"Shion!"

Shion turned around to see Nezumi standing not too far away from him, his hands tucked neatly into his pockets and his scarf pulled tight up around his neck and chin.

"What are you doing out here?" Nezumi called out.

"It's snowing."

He rolled his eyes. "Idiot. Of course it is." His gaze slithered down Shion's body, causing the victim to shiver as a wave of heat came with the intense stare, and then frowned. "You're not even wearing a proper coat."

Shion picked at his clothes. Nezumi was right; he was only wearing a sweater underneath a light jacket, and his pants weren't really the type to hold in heat. "Oh."

"'Oh'? That's it? You're going to freeze to death and all you have to say is 'oh'?"

"Oops."

Nezumi sighed. "Get inside," he grumbled. "I'd hate to have you die and then I'd be left with dealing with your body."

Shion started walking towards him. "Your concern is touching."

* * *

In all honesty, it wasn't that much warmer inside their apartment. It was getting more and more expensive to buy any source of heat or even any sort of fuel, and despite both Nezumi's and Shion's hard work, they hadn't had quite enough money to keep up. Shion could tell that, even though he was trying to hide it, Nezumi was getting irritated by their money situation.

Shion eyed his coat, which was draped across the arm of the couch. He wanted to put it on, but he also didn't want Nezumi to feel bad by the fact that he needed his coat on even while inside. So instead, he remained standing next to the couch while Nezumi sat, trying to keep his blood circulating by bouncing on the balls of his feet slightly. Without even realizing it, he started humming.

Nezumi looked up at him after a minute. "What's that?"

Shion blinked. "What's what?"

"That song," he replied. "You've been humming a song. I don't recognize the tune."

"Oh!" Shion thought for a second, trying to recall what had been running through his mind a moment ago. He flushed. "It's… it's nothing."

Nezumi's piercing gray eyes narrowed. "Don't tell me it's nothing. What. Is. It?"

"It's just… an old song my mother used to sing," Shion tried to look at Nezumi, but failed. He didn't want to bring up his old life in No. 6, especially not now. But Nezumi remained silent, though Shion could still feel his gaze trained on himself. When the tense silence continued for several minutes, Shion couldn't help himself.

"S-she said it used to be a traditional Christmas song," he stammered. "Most people don't know it nowadays, but… I-it's called "Twelve Days of Christmas." Maybe… you've heard of it?"

"Why should I know it?" Nezumi leaned back into the couch, closing his eyes. "I've never really dealt with things like Christmas."

"Ah." What else was there to say? What else could he say?

Nezumi creaked open one eye and glanced at Shion. "Do you remember all the lyrics to it?"

Shion jumped. "What?"

"The lyrics. Do you remember them all?"

"Y-yeah… I think."

"Sing it."

Shion felt the blood rush to his face. "I'm not one much for singing…"

"Just say it then."

Shion stared at Nezumi for a second, then quickly looked away. He couldn't stand Nezumi's sharp, steadfast stare; it was like his gleaming gray eyes were slowly cutting into Shion's soul, sliver by sliver, trying to figure him out. Shion tried to throw up a shield, but the gray knives still found him, no matter what.

But... maybe he didn't need a shield.

Shion took a deep breath and closed his eyes, trying to remember first the tune, then the words that naturally came with the soft melody.

"On the first day of Christmas," he said, slowly and carefully, "my true love gave to me: a partridge in a pear tree."

Shion went on until he reached the last verse. Nezumi's gaze didn't leave him once the whole time. Shion could have sworn that the other boy never even blinked. When he finally finished reciting the song, he simply stood there, returning Nezumi's unrelenting stare. They sat there for what felt like days, neither of them backing down, neither looking away. At last, Nezumi let out a soft chuckle as he relaxed in his seat.

"Did you lose track of time?" He asked.

"Huh?" Shion blinked, confused.

"Remember what day it is?"

"Oh, um..."

Nezumi rested his arms on the back of the couch and let out a sigh. "Christmas. It's Christmas." He snickered. "I thought you of all people would remember some sappy holiday like that."

"Well, sorry to disappoint you," Shion replied with a sigh as he, too, sat down on the couch. "I've just been busy."

"Yeah, well, we both have."

Shion glanced at Nezumi out of the corner of his eye. "So why did you remember it, then?"

This time, it was Nezumi's turn to blush, even though he hid it much more well than Shion with a hand covering his face casually as he leaned forward on his elbows. "Like I said," he coughed, "I thought that you would be into a corny holiday like Christmas. I was merely bracing myself for the worst."

Shion was quiet for a second, then he smiled.

Nezumi eyed him warily. "What's that stupid grin for?"

"Nothing, nothing, I was just…"

"Just what?"

"Just thinking that you might have actually been looking forward to Christmas."

Nezumi choked on the very air he was breathing. "Where on earth did you pull that lame idea from?"

"Your face," Shion's grin widened. "Just now, you looked as though you had anticipated something."

"Yeah, I had anticipated you acting like an idiot."

"Well," Shion leaned back and stretched his arms across the couch like Nezumi had been doing a minute ago, "guess you were wrong. I had really forgotten that Christmas was today, so I didn't prepare anything for it. Oh well."

Nezumi nodded. "Good."

"Good?"

"Yes, good."

"You look…" Shion chewed on his lower lip for an instant, trying to think of the right word, "disappointed."

Nezumi scoffed. "Do not."

"Do too."

"Do not."

"Do too."

"Ugh," Nezumi groaned as he rubbed the back of his head. "You sound like you're five."

"Do not," Shion protested.

"Do too."

"Do not."

"Do-" Nezumi shook his head violently. "Agh! Forget it!"

Shion snickered. "A bit touchy today, are we?"

Nezumi gave his shoulder a shove. "Shut it, Snowman."

"Snowman? Really?"

"Hey," he reached out and gently tugged on a piece of Shion's snow-white hair, "it fits, doesn't it? Anyways," he said, his hand dropping, "I guess, since you aren't interested in Christmas, you don't want to see what I had gotten… oh, well…"

Shion fidgeted in his seat. "You… got something?"

"Yup," Nezumi put his hands behind his head, interlacing his fingers. "But since you forgot all about Christmas, I guess it doesn't matter…"

More squirming. "Um… well…" Shion felt his heartbeat speed up like a little kid's does on Christmas morning when he sees all the presents stacked underneath the tree. "I… I could still…"

Nezumi smiled softly. "Thought so."

"W-what?"

He ruffled Shion's hair. "Nothing. Here, come on."

Nezumi stood up and hefted Shion up by his elbow. He dragged him into the rows of bookshelves until they reached the very back wall. He turned right and stopped, letting go of Shion's arm and stepping to the side, a smug, satisfied smile washing over his face. Shion stood there, his jaw slowly dropping open in surprise.

There, only a foot away, was a small, green tree. It only came up to Shion's neck, but it was filled out with bristling green branches and filled with life. There were some strands of sparkling silver tinsel dangling from the ends of the branches, as well as a few ornaments nestled within the branches themselves.

"How…" Shion reached out to stroke the tips of the branches; a piece of tinsel slipped through his fingers.

"Rikiga gave it to me," Nezumi explained. "He said he didn't need it and figured you would like it. I found the decorations on my own."

"Nezumi…" Shion spun around and, without thinking, threw his arms around Nezumi's torso. "Thank you," he whispered.

Nezumi was shocked into silence for a minute before he returned the embrace. "Idiot," he murmured into Shion's silky snow-white hair. "Merry Christmas."


	2. Playing Day

"Screw it all," Nezumi grumbled to himself.

Almost no one was hiring that day. No odds and ends jobs, no mechanic jobs, no violent jobs. Nothing. There was hardly even any pocket change on the street; people were watching their money much more closely with the sudden rise in prices. Nezumi's theatre wasn't paying him as much, either. The theatre's attendance rate was dropping, so it wasn't able to put on shows as often, which meant that Nezumi wouldn't get paid as often. Great.

He sighed and tightened his scarf around his neck. It was getting colder, too. The snow yesterday had been light, barely being enough to blanket the ground in white, and it had melted soon enough, anyways. But now, Nezumi was hearing whispers that there was supposed to be a big snowstorm coming soon. It was getting hard to tell whether it was a good thing or a bad thing; normal jobs like the theatre would be closed if it snowed too much, so that would be bad, but on the other hand, other jobs would open up, like running errands for snowed-in civilians.

Nezumi groaned. Was he actually getting kind of excited over the possibility of errand boy? That was definitely not a good sign.

By now, he had reached his and Shion's apartment. Truth be told, he felt bad going back in there without having brought any money home. Nevertheless, he grit his teeth and opened the door.

"Hey," he called out, "I'm back."

He stopped when he saw Shion sitting on the couch, a book in his hand and one kid on either side of him. All three of them looked up at once when they heard him coming in. Shion smiled at him while the two kids simply stared with wide eyes.

"Hi, Nezumi," Shion said. "Welcome back."

Nezumi blinked. "What…"

"Oh!" Shion closed the book and laid it on his lap. "This is Ira," he gestured to the girl, who appeared to be about seven or eight, on his left, "and this is Jaird," he finished, placing his hand on top of the head of the boy to his right, who was probably around five.

"And?"

"…And you didn't close the door yet. Hurry it up."

Nezumi didn't move his eyes once as he slammed the door behind him. The kids flinched. He rubbed his forehead and sighed. "Can't say I'm surprised. Well, whatever."

Shion stood up, obviously sensing that something was off. "They just came in to here a few stories. Their mom works all day, so…"

"Right, right," Nezumi took off his heavy coat and walked over to his bed and sat down on it. "Got it." And with that, he sprawled himself out on the bed and closed his eyes.

He must have fallen asleep because the next thing he knew, he was being prodded in the middle of his back. He jerked wide awake, lifting himself up on his elbows and twisting around to see the source of the insistent pokes. He ended up staring into the wide, unblinking eyes of two little kids, both of them kneeling next to his bed. One of them, the boy, Jaird, held a small stick.

"Awake now?" Jaird inquired. Ira quickly covered her brother's mouth as if talking was a crime, but her bright green eyes never left Nezumi's.

Nezumi sat up properly and yawned. "What are you two doing?"

No response. They simply continued to stare. Both of them had the same emerald green eyes, which only made their silence more… eerie.

Nezumi glanced around the room. "Where's Shion?" He asked when he realized the other boy was gone. "Wasn't he just here?"

Ira shook her head, drawing Nezumi's gaze back to her.

"What?" He said. "Did Shion go somewhere?"

She nodded, then pointed to Nezumi. "You," she finally said, her voice a hushed whisper.

"No," Nezumi said slowly, suddenly wondering how much the two could actually understand. "I'm not Shion; I'm Nezumi. Where's Shion? Shion. You know…" He started to pat his head. "White hair. Shion."

Ira and Jaird simultaneously began to rub their own heads, effectively messing up their dark hair.

Jaird grinned. "Shion," he mimicked. "I'm not Shion," he grabbed his short hair and held it in a sloppy ponytail, "I'm Nezumi."

Ira snickered and did the same with her own longer hair.

Nezumi scowled and dropped his hand. The kids stopped patting their own heads, too. He opened his mouth to say something when Ira poked him in his stomach. Jaird immediately poked Nezumi in the stomach as well and the both of them giggled. Nezumi shooed their hands away.

"Just what are you two-" He was interrupted as Jaird jumped up, grabbed Nezumi's arm, and started tugging as hard as he could. An instant later, Ira was doing the same with his other arm, and soon enough, the two of them dragged Nezumi off of his bed until he was on his knees on the ground.

"Hey!" He protested, trying to pry their fingers off of his arms. "Get off of-agh!" He let out a cry of surprise as Jaird suddenly jumped on his back and threw his arms around Nezumi's neck. This forced Nezumi to fall forward until he caught himself by holding himself up by his hands, putting him on all fours on the floor.

"Ride!" The young boy squealed. "Want ride on Nezumi!"

"I want a ride, too!" Ira moved to try to clamber onto Nezumi's back as well, but his hands slipped and he fell face forward to the ground, Jaird and Ira coming with him. They landed, screeching, on top of him.

"What is with you two?!" Nezumi groaned and, reaching behind his back, grabbed the back of Jaird's shirt. He pulled the laughing boy off of his back and brought him around so he could see him face-to-face. "Weren't you guys just stoic and lifeless a second ago?!"

Jaird pointed an accusing finger at Nezumi. "You're funny," he giggled as he stretched his short arm as long as he could to pat Nezumi's hair.

Ira poked her head over Nezumi's shoulder. "Shion said we could play with you," she stated matter-of-factly. "He said you're real fun."

Nezumi snarled out a curse under his breath. "He said I'm fun, did he?" He said, this time loud enough so that the two kids could hear him.

Abruptly, Nezumi pushed himself up; Ira was dangling from his back, and Jaird was trying to grab onto his front so that he could be lifted up too. They both let out a cheer that quickly turned into a squeal as Nezumi twisted himself around so he was sitting on the ground with Ira trapped in his arms. He darted his free arm out to grab Jaird, who was now behind him, and bring him around as well. He stuck each of them under each of his arms.

"Who's fun now?" He growled as he bent his arms enough to give them both a noogie at the same time.

"Wow, way to make me feel left out."

Nezumi froze mid-noogie. He didn't want to turn around, but found himself doing just that. Lo and behold, there stood a grinning Shion, a bag hanging from one hand.

"Shion." Nezumi muttered, dumbfounded.

"Seems like you guys had fun," Shion noted.

Ira managed to wriggle her way out of Nezumi's grip. She ran over to Shion and threw her arms around his waist. "He let us play with him!" She said, returning Shion's smile.

Shion returned the hug as best he could before stepping out of her reach. "I could tell." He directed a smug look towards Nezumi, who ignored it. "Your mom's waiting outside, you two."

Reluctantly, Jaird got himself untangled from Nezumi and ducked behind his sister, who was standing next to Shion. Apparently becoming shy all of a sudden, he peeked one eye out and waved goodbye to Nezumi.

"C'mon," Shion prodded, tugging the two of them towards the door. "Maybe you can come play with Nezumi again sometime, okay?"

"Will you tell us another story, Shion?" Ira asked excitedly.

"Sure! We have plenty of books you can choose from."

Ira grabbed Shion's elbow and yanked. Taking the hint, Shion stooped over until they were nearly nose-to-nose. Ira planted a kiss on Shion's cheek.

"Bye!" She giggled. Grabbing her brother's hand, she skipped towards the door. Shion followed them.

After he had waved them goodbye one last time, Shion shut the door and turned around, only to find Nezumi standing there.

"H-hi!" He stammered, startled.

"Where did you go?" Nezumi rubbed the back of his neck. "Those darn kids were attacking me, for Pete's sake!"

"And you seemed to be losing," Shion sniggered.

Nezumi scoffed. "As if."

"I went out shopping," Shion explained, hefting up the bag he was holding. "We were running low on food, and Dogkeeper told me about this one place that sells food pretty cheap, all things considered. I wanted to check it out."

"So you left them here with me?"

"I knew you'd make sure they didn't hurt themselves."

"I was asleep."

"Which is why I told them to wake you up."

Nezumi sighed. "Of course you did…"

Shion started to say something, but his words were enveloped by a yawn. It did not go unnoticed by Nezumi.

"It's getting pretty late, huh?" Nezumi said.  
"I guess so…" Shion barely managed to stifle another yawn. "I think I'm going to go to bed in a little while."

"Yeah, me too," Nezumi agreed. "After all," he continued, stretching his arms up above his head, "being woken up in the midst of a lovely nap and then being forced to fight with two little kids is not exactly a very restful thing, now is it?"

Shion shifted feed. "Sorry about that… I just thought…"

"Yeah, you don't think very well." On impulse, Nezumi leaned forward and gave Shion a quick peck on the cheek.

Shion's face flushed bright red. "Nezumi!"

Nezumi smiled smugly. "You didn't react when that kid kissed you, so I was just wondering if something would happen if I did it. Guess I was right."

"You would react too if someone just kissed you out of nowhere!" Shion protested.

Nezumi turned around and began walking towards his bed. "Whatever makes you feel better."

He was abruptly stopped when he felt two arms wrap around his chest from behind, squeezing hard. "What…?" He tried to twist his neck around to see what Shion was doing, but he didn't have to. He felt lips press against his neck, just underneath his jaw line.

Shion quickly pulled away, looking at the floor. "There," he mumbled. "Now we're even." He looked up to see Nezumi still facing away from him. "Nezumi?"

"Shut up and go to bed," Nezumi ordered, covering his burning cheeks with one hand. "Just go to bed."


	3. Day at the Theatre

Shion put one hand in his pocket, feeling the small amount of money that was jangling in there.

Dogkeeper didn't have anymore work for him. All of his dogs were already rented out, and Shion had already cleaned his inn as best as he could. So he was out of a job for the next few weeks. He had been since the day before Christmas.

He didn't tell Nezumi that he was going to be out of a job for a while because he knew that it would only worry Nezumi even more. And he also wanted to be able to support himself and not have to rely on Nezumi all the time. The previous day, he had went to a store Dogkeeper had told him about, telling him that they were looking for some hired help for the winter. Most likely, Shion would only have to help restock the store, man the register, and run some errands, and it wouldn't pay much, but still, it was better than nothing.

But he hadn't gotten his money from the store. He had gotten it from Ira and Jaird's mother.

He really had only wanted to watch the kids for a short time while their mom was out working, and he knew, from previous encounters with them, that they liked stories. But it had somehow ended up becoming a paid job. At first, he had tried to refuse the money, saying he only wanted to help out, but their mother had insisted.

So here he was, feeling as guilty as if he had murdered someone in cold blood.

* * *

 

He was supposed to go to the store again today, as per the storeowner's instructions. There was a good ninety-five percent chance that Shion would get the job, which was a very, very good thing. So good in fact that Shion was about to start singing aloud, but since that would make him look insane, he toned it down to a cheerful hum.

It wasn't nearly time for him to go to the store yet, but he couldn't just sit still in the apartment all by himself Nezumi was at work so he decided to take his time on the way to the store and check out some other shops. He wasn't planning on buying anything, of course, but it would still be a fun way to pass the time. Plus, Nezumi had gotten that tree for Christmas, so, naturally, Shion wanted to pay him back somehow; maybe he would be able to find a trinket or buy something extremely cheap. He knew Nezumi didn't really like stuff like that, but maybe if it was something that could also be useful…

Or maybe he'll like it because I gave it to him.

The thought entered his mind before he even thought to think it, and despite the wintry wind slapping at his face, Shion felt his face heat up.

Idiot, he scolded himself silently. Nezumi was right; I am really sappy. Sappy as well as stupid. So sappy and stupid that I can't even think well.

A soft, gentle warmth started to seep throughout his entire body, originating from his flushing cheeks as well as his pounding heart, as he remembered the gesture that had accompanied that last fact that had been pointed out by Nezumi. Shion's hand moved up of its own accord and his fingertips brushed against the spot where Nezumi had kissed him; Shion could've sworn it was warmer there…

Finally realizing what he was doing, Shion shook his head violently. "Idiot!" He shouted to himself. But unfortunately, shouts do not remain to oneself. Nearby people turned to look at him, a few looking insulted as if they thought that he was talking about them.

"Oh… no, sorry," Shion held his hands up, palms out. "I didn't mean to…Sorry." Directing his gaze at the ground to avoid the venomous glares he was getting and also so others couldn't see his burning cheeks Shion quickly started to walk away, going as fast as he dare to without looking up.

When he finally did look up and look around, he realized that he was standing at the corner of the block that housed the theatre Nezumi worked at. Shion looked down the street and, sure enough, there stood the tall, circular building. Inside, Shion knew, Nezumi was reciting his lines, his deep voice resonating throughout the theatre, breathing new life into age-old words.

As Shion thought more and more about Nezumi's voice, his legs began to move entirely on their own, dragging him towards the theatre. It wasn't until he was at the doors of the theatre that Shion regained control of his rebellious limbs. Even so, he still continued towards the entrance.

I have plenty of time, he reasoned with himself. And besides, I haven't seen Nezumi perform in a while… unless one can count the times he's mocked me.

As he entered the theatre, he vaguely noted that there were no ticket collectors, or even any customers. Going into the main auditorium, Shion saw the reason why: the large room was completely empty except for two people on the stage in the front of the room, as well as a small ensemble of people in the front row, watching the scene before them.

Onstage, Nezumi was standing over another young man who was lying on the floor, as still as the dead. Neither were wearing any of the extravagant costumes Shion was used to seeing.

This is a rehearsal, he realized. The people in the audience section were the other cast members and the director. They were all watching Nezumi's and the other man's scene to see what needed to be changed or added. Of course.

Shion could see Nezumi's mouth moving and could hear the barest outline of his voice, but he couldn't understand a word that was being said. So he started to creep along the edge of the room, staying in the shadows so as not to be noticed, to get closer to the stage so he could hear Nezumi's voice.

But as he snuck along the room's rim, he never looked away from the stage; he never let his eyes wander away from Nezumi. As Shion watched and walked, Nezumi fell to his knees on the stage, his face twisted with agony as he lifted the limp head of the other actor and cradled it in his arms, one hand gently caressing the young man's cheek.

Shion froze.

"Haply some poison," Nezumi said, grief hanging off of the words that Shion was now close enough to hear, "yet death doth hang on them, to make me die with a restorative."

Before the words had even finished echoing around the large room, Nezumi cupped the face of the young man in his arms with his hands and brought their lips together. Their sweet, tender kiss couldn't have lasted more than a handful of seconds, but to Shion, it dragged on for far longer than an eternity. Each heartbeat ticked out a century; each breath measured a millennia.

When Nezumi finally broke away, he rested his forehead on the brow of the still-silent man. "Ah," Nezumi moaned, "thy lips are warm!"

Shion barely heard these awful words, however. He was already feeling the theatre, hanging his head like a dog who was just scolded for going somewhere he wasn't allowed to go. Numb, he stumbled through the crammed streets. The stalls pressed in on him, jamming sharp corners into his hips and sticking legs out to trip him. He must have fallen multiple times, for after a minute or so of staggering through the roads, he was covered in dirt and a small array of bruises, but he didn't recall falling. Then again, he also couldn't any of his journey. One second he was in the theatre watching Nezumi, and the next he was…

Shion stopped walking just long enough to take in his surroundings. His body told him that he wasn't too far from the store he was applying to work at, and his mind somehow managed to translate the message, but his mind was working automatically, searching his body for whatever energy that wasn't drained when Nezumi k-… when he…

Shion tried to focus on where he was. He tried to focus on the fact that he knew exactly where he was and where he was supposed to go and how to get there.

So how come he had never felt so lost?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And it's at this point that this story is no longer really a Christmas/holiday themed story because I can't keep a theme going for shit.  
> (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧


	4. The Awkwardest of Days

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two updates in one day because I forgot to update on Sunday sooo here's my apologizes. :D

Nezumi was annoyed.

He hadn't felt this deep, burning irritation for… Actually, he had never felt this bothered, this infuriated.

As much as he would like to pin the blame on one certain thing or one certain person he knew that that would be wrong. It was just everything all at once that made him clench his jaws, grit his teeth, narrow his eyes. It was all the bad things that could happen happening that drew his hands into tight fists.

He had been fine before. He had been fine with the lack of jobs and the threat of heavy snow and the skyrocketing price of any sort of heat or food. These had occurred before; maybe not all at once, but he knew these things well. It wasn't as if he was even surprised. He could get past these obstacles. They may not be pleasant or easy, but he would survive.

So what had pushed him over the edge?

The door opened.

"I'm back," Shion said as he stepped through the entryway. The door shut behind him.

Speak of the devil.

Nezumi remained silent, making no move to shift from where he sat on the bed. His molten silver eyes glared at Shion from the shadows cast by his bangs.

Normally, Shion would have looked at Nezumi with a look that was filled with worry and tinged with curiosity if he had seen Nezumi looking like that. Normally Shion's brow would have furrowed and he would have said something sappy like "Is everything okay?"

But Shion wasn't acting normally.

So instead, Shion just shrugged off his coat, draped it over the arm of the couch, and began rummaging through the bag he had brought in with him. He pulled out cans of food, and even a head of lettuce, and started to put it all away. It wasn't much, but it was too much.

Where had he gotten the food? His job with Dogkeeper didn't pay that much, and it wasn't as if food just fell from the heavens.

And so, Nezumi's irritation grew.

"Shion." His deep voice resonated throughout the room, far too loud for the far too quiet room. Even a sleeping deaf man would have heard it. Even so, Shion didn't respond. "Shion."

Shion didn't turn around. "Yeah?"

"Look at me."

Shion stopped moving, his hands hovering in midair. "What?" His voice hovered in the air for half a second before crashing to the ground, shattering into a hundred pieces.

"You heard me, Shion." Nezumi tried to keep the growl out of his voice, but quite a bit still seeped through.

Shion continued to sort through the small pile of food, now going at a much slower pace. "I'm busy right now," he mumbled.

Nezumi's fingers curled into the bed sheet, but he waited patiently nonetheless. He watched as the grocery bag rustled as Shion dug through it, groping for the next can; the sound of it filled the room, even reaching into the deepest corners. When the last of the food was unpacked and put away and Shion was out of excuses, Nezumi stood up, the bed underneath him creaking in relief, and walked over until he was standing directly behind Shion. He was close enough to feel Shion tense up, close enough to feel the very tips of Shion's soft hair whisper against his chin, close enough to feel Shion's gentle heat.

"Look. At. Me."

The hairs on the back of Shion's neck stood up. Slowly, carefully, Shion turned. He fidgeted nervously and stared down at the floor, his head nearly bumping into Nezumi's chest because of that. Nezumi gave him one more second, one more chance, but when the shorter boy made no move to look up, Nezumi grabbed Shion's chin and tilted his head up forcefully. Shion's shining eyes went wide as his cheeks echoed the color of his eyes.

Nezumi stared into those startled eyes, trying to figure out why Shion had been acting so strangely since yesterday. He only got a few heartbeats to do so, however, as Shion quickly looked away. He tried to twist his head out of Nezumi's grasp, but the dark-haired boy only tightened his grip.

"L-let go," Shion protested weakly.

"I will," Nezumi promised. "After you look at me."

"I did!"

"You didn't."

A thick, stifling silence swarmed around them and they stood in it, Shion refusing to look at Nezumi, and Nezumi refusing to let Shion go. The silence weighed down upon them; it caused needles of pain to prick Nezumi's shoulders, and it made Shion's breathing speed up slightly. The warmth of his quick breaths no, his pants pressed into Nezumi's neck, tenderly flowing over his skin. Nezumi had to force himself not to shiver.

The silence grew rapidly. Soon it engulfed the entirety of the room. It was too much. It was too heavy to bear. Nezumi sighed.

"Fine," he said, his thumb reaching up to brush against the very bottom of Shion's lower lip before his hand moved away. "Don't acknowledge me then. Just ignore me." The tips of his fingers glided over the faint red scar on Shion's cheek before they moved away completely.

Shion's cheeks flared up at Nezumi's soft, unconscious touch, but he instantly paled at his accusing words. He finally looked towards Nezumi on his own accord. "What?" His voice was small, almost too small to hear. "That… I wasn't…"

But Nezumi had already turned away, his hands jammed into his pockets. So he didn't see Shion looking at him, he didn't see the look of helplessness on the other boy's colorless face. Nezumi started to walk away, back towards the bed, but he was stopped by a hand grabbing his sleeve. He stood as still as a cat watching its prey, even though his eyes were fixed on the wall farthest away from him, not his victim.

"Nezumi," Shion twisted Nezumi's sleeve between his fingers. "I really didn't… didn't mean to ignore you…"

Nezumi ignored the urge to face Shion. "Then what did you mean?"

Shion's hand began to slip from Nezumi's arm. "I don't know… I… I just couldn't look at you… for some reason… It… it hurts to look at… you…"

Shion's words were hot in Nezumi's ears, daggers in his chest. Shion was the one in pain?

Nezumi turned towards Shion, another sigh escaping his lips as his hand moved up, reaching for Shion's face. "Shion-"

The white-haired boy jumped, his face burning a bright red. His lips opened slightly. "D-don't you have work soon?"

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, regret flooded Shion's face. The color he had just regained was immediately drained from his cheeks until they were a pasty white.

Nezumi felt… hurt. Hurt and annoyed by the sudden change in topic, hurt and annoyed by the fact that Shion was trying to get rid of him. But more than that, he felt intrigued and confused. The way Shion had said 'work'… He had wrapped the word in bitterness and tied it off with a ribbon of… jealousy? No. Surely Nezumi had interrupted the low note in his voice wrong. Even so, the evidence still plainly showed that something about Nezumi's work was probably the cause of Shion's behavior.

Nezumi's heart skipped a beat. Did Shion find out that he was practically out of a job? The theatre was currently working on a production of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, but they wouldn't perform it for another two days, and Nezumi wouldn't get paid for another week at the very least. Could that be the cause of Shion's startling behavior?

No, Nezumi decided. Shion wouldn't act like that even if he found out that Nezumi was scourging the streets for the barest hint of a job. He would be worried, but he would still look at Nezumi, still talk to him. He would still smile at Nezumi.

Nezumi took a step back, then silently grabbed his coat and stalked out of the apartment. He didn't have to look back to know that Shion was staring at the ground.

If something about the theatre was the reason for Shion's sudden change, then Nezumi was going to find a way to fix it.


	5. Reconciliation Day

"Agh!" Shion yelped as his feet lost in the battle of traction to the sheet of ice beneath him and he fell on his rear. He groaned and began to slowly climb back up to his feet. Along the way, however, his left foot decided to slide underneath him and he lost his balance once again. Arms flailing, he tumbled over, his face smacking directly into the ice.

"Of course," he grunted as he pushed his face off of the freezing sleet. "Why not?"

His week had started out just fine; no, it had started out fantastically. Five days ago, he could have jumped for joy. He could have scaled a mountain in a heartbeat using his happiness alone as fuel.

Yet now, only four nights later, the guilt and anxiety burrowed in the pit of his stomach were enough to drag him down to the bottom of the ocean and then some. The 'then some' could largely be credited to the fact that Shion's bad mood was putting Nezumi in an even worse mood.

Shion shook his head: partly to shake the flecks of ice and snow out of his hair, and partly to shake the gloomy thoughts out of his head. It wasn't his fault. He hadn't meant to offend Nezumi. He just couldn't look at Nezumi. He didn't really understand it, but every time he saw Nezumi, all he could see was Nezumi bending over, his dark hair framing the face of the man in his arms, his hand cupping the other's cheek and…

"Oi!" Shion was shoved to one side by a growling large man, nearly falling down again in the process. "Watch where you're going, moron!"

Shion flushed. "I'm sorry!"

The man stalked off, grumbling all the way.

Shion sighed and head towards home, his thoughts as muddled and grey as the looming sky above.

Awkward silence.

Nezumi sat on the bed, sipping at spoonfuls of his bowl of soup silently and evenly. Shion, on the other hand, was perched on the very edge of the couch and was downing his soup as fast as humanly possible without choking to death. After finishing in less than a minute, he started to stand up, but was stopped by Nezumi's voice.

"Ander saw you," he said casually, not even looking up from his soup. When Shion didn't say anything, Nezumi continued, "Yesterday. At the theatre. He saw you leaving during the rehearsal."

Is Ander the one you were kissing?

"Did he?" Shion asked instead.

Nezumi eyed him carefully. "Said you looked… distressed." His voice was steady and emotionless, betraying nothing of what he was actually thinking. Shion had heard Nezumi use that voice on haggling shopkeepers and pesky thugs. He had heard him use that voice on Dogkeeper and Ryuga from time to time. But Nezumi had never used that voice on Shion. Never.

Shion's eyes widened and he spun to look at Nezumi. "What?" He couldn't tell whether he was asking about Nezumi's voice or about Ander's words.

"That's what he said." Nezumi's voice softened, a layer of blank ice falling away. His molten gray eyes glinted and suddenly Shion realized what had just happened: Nezumi had provoked him. Tricked him into looking at him. That's why Nezumi had used that voice. He was using it as bait.

"So what I think," Nezumi grinned mockingly without using his lips, "is that something happened at the theatre, and that something is the cause of your unusual behavior as of late."

Shion swallowed, then said what possibly could be the most stupidest thing possible at that time:  
"Who's Ander?"

Nezumi's eyes narrowed curiously. "Why do you want to know?"

"I just… I just do, alright?" It took Shion a moment to realize that he was steadily raising his voice.

"You sound…" Nezumi hesitated. "Jealous."

Shion's face burned with shame. "W-what nonsense are you babbling now?" He turned towards the bookshelves, away from Nezumi.

"Shion." Relief flooded Nezumi's voice. He wasn't even trying to hide it.

Why is he relieved? Shion's fist clenched. What is there to be relieved about?

"Ah," Shion smiled shakily, "there's a book I've been wanting to read recently…" Using that pathetic excuse as a shield, he dashed into aisles of bookshelves, using their tall, towering structures as a barricade.

"Shion." Nezumi broke that barricade instantly, following him. "Wait."

Shion reached the back wall and stopped. He felt Nezumi stop right behind him, his breath warm on the back of his neck. A lock of his hair was tugged lightly.

"What are you jealous about?" Nezumi murmured gently.

"I-I'm not jealous about a-anything!" Shion stammered, shaking off Nezumi's hand.

He heard Nezumi chuckle. "The back of your neck is red…" Fingers pressed against the skin there, cool against the raging heat inside of Shion.

He turned around so Nezumi couldn't tease him like that, but that only meant that he was face-to-face with Nezumi. "Why… why are you so happy all of a sudden?" Shion asked weakly.

Nezumi's eyes darted to the side for the briefest of seconds. Shion's mouth opened slightly. Was that… Nezumi's cheeks… was he… blushing?

"I'll tell you," Nezumi finally said, his cheeks returning to their normal color, "if you tell me why you're jealous."

"I already said!" Shion objected, pressing himself up against the wall as far as possible. "I'm not jealous!"

"Then tell me why you're acting weird."

"You're the one acting weird!"

Nezumi's lips curled up slightly. "And I'll tell you why if you tell me why."

Shion started to protest again when he made the fatal mistake of looking into Nezumi's eyes. He had only meant to glance at them, but they grabbed his own bright red eyes, holding him tight. They were practically glowing in the dim light and the light of them was dissecting Shion, crawling into his mind and heart, trying to figure him out.

Shion's mouth went dry. "At the theatre… I just went to… to see you act…"

Nezumi waited patiently. His eyes relented a little.

Dang it. Dang it dang it dang it. "I saw you. On stage." Shion was surprised at the strength slowly seeping into his words. He didn't feel confident; in fact, he was feeling everything but confident. He just… wanted to know. "I only watched for a minute, but…"

"Hm?" Nezumi prodded. His stance had begun to change as Shion spoke, turning less rigid and threatening and more relaxed and familiar.

"You were kissing someone. Some man."

Silence.

As the words hovered in the air, Shion flushed. Suddenly it all seemed so stupid, saying that out loud. He sounded like some little kid. Stupid stupid stupid st-

"Is that it?" Nezumi didn't sound disappointed or irritated. He didn't sound as if he thought Shion was stupid or naïve or anything like that. He just sounded… intrigued.

Shion nodded sheepishly.

Nezumi's right hand slammed against the wall next to Shion's head and his body moved slightly sideways and forwards, his left knee pressing against Shion's right one, effectively preventing Shion from even thinking about escaping. His left hand moved to Shion's chin, caressing the sensitive skin underneath, his fingers trailing under his chin and along his neck. Shion let out a soft gasp of protest that quickly melted into a sigh of pleasure and confusion, then a moan.

Nezumi's head tilted towards his, slowly closing the gap… closer… Shion shut his eyes, partly because it felt natural, and partly because he felt slightly scared. He could feel Nezumi's heated breaths on him, on his lips. He waited for Nezumi's lips to capture his own…

Pressure against his lips, rough and soft. But they weren't lips. Even Shion knew what a real kiss felt like. He opened his eyes.

He nearly screamed when he saw Nezumi's glowing gray eyes not three inches from his own. He was so close! How could they not be kissing? And what was on Shion's mouth…?

He looked down.

Oh.

Shion's body went limp and his face burned hotter than ever before with humiliation.

Nezumi took a half step away, his left arm staying exactly where it was. A cocky, smug grin danced across his lips. "See?"

His thumb pressed against Shion's lower lip harder as if trying to coax a response out of the shaking boy. "I… I… you…" Shion tried to form more words, but failed.  
"It's a stage kiss," Nezumi explained. "Some actors don't mind actually kissing one another, even if they're both boys, but others… well, it's a handy little trick." He drew back his hand, holding it up for all to see. "Thumb over the mouth. Simple. Easy. And it looks convincing on stage. No one suspects a thing." He smirked. "Guess I should tell the director that it works perfectly."

"W-w-what?" Shion shook his head violently. "No! Don't!"

Nezumi smiled warmly and Shion's heart skipped a beat. "Don't worry," he said with mock reassurance. "I won't tell anyone. Truth be told, I doubt anyone who doesn't know you would believe that you could be so simple-minded."

Shion's cheeks instantly grew redder than his bright eyes. "I'm not simple minded…" he muttered faintly.

Nezumi's grin deepened. "You sure about that?"

"Yeah…" Even Shion found his hesitant voice impossible to believe.

Nezumi stooped over a bit, easily capturing Shion in the same pressed-up-against-the-wall position as before. His head tilted inwards. "You want to stick with that?" His soft words were hot on Shion's ear, his lips barely brushing the very tip of it.

Shion tried to lean away, but Nezumi's other arm came up to stop him. Nezumi rested his forehead against the side of Shion's head and blew a little puff of air onto the trapped boy's ear. Shion shivered, the blush quickly rising to blanket both his ears as if that would protect them from Nezumi's assaults.

"You're red from head to toe," Nezumi murmured shrewdly. He pulled away and a wave of cool, Nezumi-less air crashed into Shion. "See? Simple-minded."

Shion swallowed and tried to calm his rapidly beating heart, but to no avail. "Wh-what about you?" He stammered. "You said you would tell me what made you so happy."

Nezumi cleared his throat, covering his lower face with one hand. "Did I?"

Shion smiled a little, sensing the smallest of chances to go on the offensive. "You did. So spill."

Nezumi raised an eyebrow. "Since when do you say 'spill'?"

"Since I want to."

"And since when do you want to?"

"Since I'm telling you to tell me what made you so happy."

Nezumi gazed at Shion through half-lidded eyes. "And if I were to tell you that you will have to force that certain piece of information from me…?" His voice held something else, something that Shion thought sounded a lot like theatrical teasing.

Shion grinned and raised his voice slightly in the way he had heard Nezumi do when acting. "Then I will rip that information from your tongue, if need be."

Nezumi took his cue instantly. "What, my lord?" His jaw dropped in horror. He fell to his knees, his hands covering his gaping mouth. "I beg of thee, do not harm me! For thee, my lord, I will scale any mountain, jump any valley, swim any water! But I prithee, do not ask of me to speak those words, lest my voice falter! Shall you punish your most faithful servant who hath eyes but for you?"

Shion blinked, startled, but didn't let himself lose momentum. "Then your vows to me shall be anew: Scale the highest mountain, jump the widest valley, swim the deepest water, if thou can. And bring me back the most precious of all things that you see, and do it ere passes a span. This you must do if my most faithful servant is what you claim."

"Ah, my lord, then I fear that by this task I am to be slain." Nezumi bowed his head regretfully. "For you are the most precious of all things before my sight. Even so, shall I try to bring thee to thyself with all my might? As I have failed thee, my lord, if you see it fit, from the foulest tree shall I be hung."

"Thou hath a well-honeyed tongue," Shion scoffed. "But certainly, liars bear the same."

Nezumi's head snapped back up, his eyes wide with dismay. "Nay, my lord! Do not treat my vows as thou wouldest a game!" He let out a small gasp, as if realizing what he was doing, then quickly bowed his head respectfully. "To me, thy voice is as the sweetest bell, thy words the sweetest song. Ah, of thy wondrous smile alone it would take a millennia to tell! I should rather die and rot ere I do thee wrong!"

"Truly, thou means this?"

"Truly, thou brings me every happiness." Nezumi cast his gleaming eyes upwards to meet Shion's, a taunting, knowing smirk dancing within them.

Shion sucked in a sharp breath, the blush rapidly returning to his cheeks. "You… you tricked me!" He spluttered, instantly dropping the act that Nezumi had goaded him into doing so that he would forget what he had originally been asking Nezumi about.

Nezumi blinked innocently, this time not as a pleading servant, but as a mischievous boy. "Nay, I would darest no such thing against thee!"

"You…" Shion was cut off when Nezumi grabbed his hand.

"Do not fear, my lord," Nezumi grinned, pressing his lips to the back of Shion's hand. "Thy faithful servant before thee shall remain yours until the ending cue. I am yours until the sun melts the moon and for that crime must he atone. And so I beg you not to worry, for I shall never leave you alone."

He kissed Shion's hand one last time, then stood up, gave a deep and elegant bow, and walked away, his strides long and sure, his shoulders relaxed and oh so smug, daring Shion to ask him again.

Shion didn't. Instead, he carefully rubbed the back of his hand, his heart racing a million miles away while his eyes never looked away from the sauntering boy in front of him and some small, tucked away part of him wondered how many of those words were true.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did... did anyone of you notice... that when Nezumi and Shion were doing the weird/awkward king/servant relationship acting thingy-doodle, that... *fidget* they were rhyming? not just with themselves, but with each other?! kekeke... makes me so happy... they were rhyming with each other... hehehehe...
> 
> *Disclaimer* I do not take credit for the idea of having them rhyme with each other; Shakespeare often uses this technique with the lovers in his plays, and I just happened to be writing this particular chapter at school right after I was practicing A Midsummer's Night Dream, so my mind was in full Shakespeare mode. *-*


	6. Snow Day

Sure, it was snowing. Sure, it had been snowing all day and was supposed to turn into a blizzard soon enough. But not even the threat of being snowed in could dampen Shion's mood. He had caught himself humming several times already and had to constantly stop himself from doing so some more.

When he went back into the apartment, Nezumi was already there, sitting on the couch, a book in his hand. His eyes flickered up for half a heartbeat as he flipped a page. "Was Dogkeeper complaining about the snow? Bet he was."

Shion sighed, even though he wasn't really annoyed. "You know, you could just say 'welcome back' or 'how was your day' like a normal person."

"Do all 'normal' people sound like some young new bride?"

Shion scoffed. "C'mon. You're an actor. So act."

"Listen," Nezumi leaned forward in his seat, propping his elbows on his knees. "I may be the dang best actor you will ever know, but not even I could pull off some naïve, shy, newlywed bride." Without batting an eye, he relaxed back into the couch and gazed at his book once again. "That's more your forte, after all."

"Wha-…" Shion's mouth opened and closed a few times before finally stammering out a glorious "No, it isn't! I have no idea what you're talking about!"

Nezumi raised a smirking eyebrow. "Oh, I'm quite certain you do. You with all your cooking and cleaning and blushing and getting happy over the littlest thing. The perfect young wife."

Shion tried to stop the heat from rushing to his face so as not to prove Nezumi's point perfectly. "How would you know what the 'perfect young wife' is supposed to be like, anyways?" He demanded.

"Books. Plays. Gossips." Nezumi waved a hand carelessly. "It's in our culture, you know. Really, all I do is pay attention instead of walking around humming like some lovesick girl." The meaningful, amused look he gave Shion spoke just as much as, if not more than, his words.

Shion paled. "Do… were you… were you following me?"

Nezumi snorted. "Of course not. I just happened to pass by you as you were meandering around with a dopey look on your face. You didn't even notice me. Could've taken the pants right off of you and you wouldn't have even thought to think that you were romping around half naked."

Shion couldn't help but look down. He still had his pants on. Good.

When he looked back up a second later, Nezumi was laughing, his book lying at his side, long forgotten.

" _Pffffft_ … I can't believe you actually checked!" Nezumi's snickers rapidly grew into loud, deep laughs. He tried to hold some of it in by covering his mouth and holding his sides, but he was failing. Badly. He bent over forwards, his eyes squeezed shut as warm, rough laughter erupted from him.

Shion's cheeks flared up. "What's so funny?"

"Hah!" Nezumi wiped at his eyes, wincing, and took in a deep breath. "Seriously, Shion, I marvel at how cutely stupid you can be sometimes."

Shion froze, his mind racing around that one word. "C… cute? Did you just… call me cute?" He had meant to sound inquiring, but somehow he ended up sounding breathless.

Nezumi's laughter finally began to die down. "Hm? What'd you say?"  
  
"Ah… nothing. Never mind." Shion started picking up random books and objects lying around and putting them back in their proper places: either in neat little piles or on bookshelves or in cupboards or something of the like. He had to keep moving or else he just might stop about Nezumi and about how stupidly happy he was that Nezumi had called him cute.

_I really am like some newlywed wife or something_ , Shion thought with a sigh. He wasn't sure if he felt irritated or content by that fact.

"Hey." Nezumi had been staring at him intently, but now he stood up. "What do you want for supper?"

"I can cook," Shion offered. "Just give me a minute."

"I asked what you wanted for supper." The look in Nezumi's eyes made it clear that he wasn't going to budge.

Shion gave in reluctantly. "Whatever's fine." Nezumi nodded, then walked over to the open kitchen.

So Shion cleaned and Nezumi cooked. Shion kept on looking at Nezumi out of the corner of his eye, however; yesterday, Nezumi had left early in the morning, far earlier than usual. Shion hadn't really noticed it at the time because he had been a bit… distracted, to say the least. But there's no way he couldn't have noticed it this morning. And there was something about Nezumi that just seemed… tired. Naturally, Shion wanted to do everything he could to lessen Nezumi's burden, but he knew there was no arguing with him when he was determined to do something, even if it was something as simple as cooking.

And it wasn't as if something like this was uncommon, anyways. Yet something was a bit different. With the chill seeping in from outside, every time Shion accidentally bumped into Nezumi the latter of which loudly complaining about the former's clumsiness each time or even just walked past him, Shion could feel Nezumi's heat in quick, smooth pulses. They felt… nice. Had he always been so warm?

"Dogkeeper's been paying you well recently, hasn't he?" Nezumi mused, glancing at Shion carefully.

Shion froze for half a heartbeat. His job at the grocer's paid him largely in groceries, but it would indeed look like he had simply been buying the food before coming home. "I guess he has, now that you mention it," he answered as casually as possible.

Was that why Nezumi had asked about Dogkeeper before they had started talking about young wives and stolen pants? Was he beginning to suspect that Shion was out of his main job for a while and was working part-time behind Nezumi's back?

"Why do you think that is?" Nezumi asked simply.

Shion shrugged. "Guess I've been doing more work over there lately." He had to force each false word from his mouth, telling himself that it was better this way so that Nezumi wouldn't worry. He had enough on his plate already.

Nezumi merely nodded, accepting Shion's vague answer, but his face darkened.

After that, they worked in the thick silence that they had created together. During their dinner, Shion took it upon himself to lighten the mood; he was tired of fighting with Nezumi, and felt extremely guilty that it was always his own fault. So he said and did stupid things, most of which were on accident, and tried to joke around. The latter went horribly as Shion ended up buried in a mountain of books. But it got a smirk out of Nezumi, so that made it worth it. By the time they had finished getting ready for bed, Nezumi was back to his criticizing, teasing self, and it was then that they both began to realize something.

Shion shivered. "It's really cold in here, isn't it?"

Nezumi rubbed his arms. "Yeah, it is… Dang it," he growled a minute later. "We're out of wood and oil. Thought I had just gotten some, too…"

"Still," Shion said quickly, "that shouldn't be enough to make it this cold, right?" While it had been cold before, it had been bearable as long as they weren't running around in a tank top and shorts. Now, however, the air was icy enough that their breath was crystallizing in the air before them. Shion honestly would not have been surprised if it started snowing in there.

Nezumi sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "Normally, it wouldn't. But there's going to be a blizzard tonight. Guess nature wanted to get a head start and freeze us all to death before burying us in twenty feet of snow."

"That was a terrible joke, you know."

"Who said it was a joke?" Nezumi said it seriously, but Shion could see a tired gleam in his eyes.

Shion looked towards the bed and the couch. "Think we have enough blankets?"

Nezumi followed his gaze. "Not between the two of us, I wouldn't think," he admitted thoughtfully. "Not unless you're okay with becoming a popsicle in your sleep."

"Thanks, but no, thanks," Shion chuckled nervously. "So… what then?"

"Obvious, isn't it?" Nezumi stared at him like he was a moron, which he definitely felt like at that second. When Shion still didn't 'get it,' Nezumi sighed again. "Just get in the bed."  
"O…Okay…" Shion did his best to ignore the deep, authoritative tone in Nezumi's voice, and he also did his best to ignore Nezumi's actual words and what other meanings they could take on. You know, if someone were to be thinking like that. Which Shion wasn't. Nope…

He followed Nezumi's instructions and, after re-arranging the blankets, climbed into the bed. Before he could settle in completely, Nezumi turned off the lights. Shion heard footsteps and a second later, the blankets on the bed rustled.

"Scoot over," he heard Nezumi complain. Shion did as he was told and shifted backwards until his back was touching the cold wall. He shivered and moved so that he wasn't touching the wall. As he was doing all this, Nezumi joined him in the bed.

"Egh…" Shion stared down at the gray-haired boy lying next to him, his eyes gradually growing accustomed to the dark.

But he didn't have to be able to see in the dark to be able to see Nezumi's glowing silver eyes look at him. "Aren't you going to lie down?"

"Sure, but…"

"What?" Nezumi flashed his teeth. "Or are you shy, my dear young wife?"

"C-course not!" Shion immediately flopped down onto the bed, turning around so that his back was to Nezumi. He lay stiff and rigid and went to great lengths to be as far away from Nezumi as possible without touching the freezing wall.

He heard Nezumi chuckle. "Isn't that defeating the whole purpose?"

Shion didn't respond. He was focusing on his own rapid breathing and, more importantly, on how to calm it down. He was not thinking about Nezumi's steady breath, nor about the fact that Nezumi was under the same blanket as him, sharing the same warmth…

His not-Nezumi thoughts were shattered into a million not-Nezumi pieces as not-Nezumi's arms wrapped around him from behind and firmly pulled Shion away from the wall and into the taller boy's chest.

Shion thought his face would catch on fire, even with the cold, but perhaps not before his heart exploded in his chest. "Nngh…" He tried to speak, though he had no idea what he was trying to say, but he could only get out a bunch of strangled breaths.

"See?" Nezumi's grip relaxed, became as natural as if he and Shion were two long-lost pieces of a jigsaw puzzle that had finally been reunited. "Much warmer this way, right?"

He was right, of course. Wherever their skin touched burned, and that fire spider-webbed over Shion's entire body, slowly weaving itself into Shion's own skin.

"Besides," Nezumi sighed, his voice easing enough to show his full tiredness, "this is nicer, isn't it?" His arms shifted to get a better hold on Shion and his fingers lightly trailed over Shion's chest.

"Nez… Nezumi…" Shion attempted to curl in on himself, but Nezumi's arms wouldn't let him. He was certain that Nezumi could feel his racing heartbeat, just in case he couldn't hear it already.

"What is it?" Nezumi asked drowsily.

"Your hand?"

"And? …Ah." Shion could feel Nezumi become more aware of his position. Then he felt a smirk. "Does this bother you?" Slowly and deliberately, Nezumi flattened his palms against Shion's chest. He was barely even touching it just brushing against it, really but that only made Shion feel it all the more. Keeping his hands hovering just like that, Nezumi moved his hands down Shion's chest, taking care to touch every inch of his skin, and towards Shion's stomach.

Shion's hand covered Nezumi's to stop him. "What…" He was shocked to discover that his chest was tight for lack of air and he couldn't say anything else. Nezumi, on the other hand, didn't seem surprised at all.

"Soft…" he muttered. Before Shion could even think to ask what he meant, Nezumi continued: "Yesterday. When you asked why I was so happy…" His hands had stopped moving, but his fingers started to twist around Shion's, playing with them gently. "Still want to know?"

Shion didn't move his fingers away. "Yes…" He nodded in case Nezumi couldn't hear his whisper.

Another smirk. "Ask me again, and I'll tell you."

Shion sucked in a breath. "Nezumi, why-agnh!"

Nezumi drew his mouth away from where he had placed it on Shion's neck. Shion could feel Nezumi gazing at his handiwork proudly. "Why what, Shion?" Nezumi asked innocently.

Shion swallowed, determined not to give in to Nezumi's teases. "Why were-hngeh!" He bit his lip to stop himself from crying out as Nezumi's teeth found the side of his neck once again.

Nezumi stared at the two bite marks smugly. "You were saying?"

"Stop that!" Shion took one of his hands away from Nezumi's twisting fingers to rub the back of his neck. It was hot where Nezumi had bit him.

"Hm… stop what?"  
  
"Stop… biting me!"

"Then stop looking so bitable." Nezumi punctuated this by biting one of the fingers protecting Shion's reddening neck.

Shion buried his face in the pillow. "Jush fuhgeh iht."

The two of them were still, though Shion's heart was still beating out of control and his skin felt ready to burst into flames just from Nezumi's touch. Even so, he somehow managed to close his eyes in an effort to fall asleep. The warm blackness and the comforting feel of Nezumi's fit snug around his, Nezumi's arms holding him steady, comforted him, and he quickly grew used to having someone's soft breath brushing against neck. It became natural to feel someone's heartbeat through his back.

"You weren't mad at me."

Those words dripped into Shion's lulled bubble; they didn't break it, just stirred it enough to open Shion's eyes.

"What?" He asked, looking over his shoulder as best he could in his current position.

"That's why I was happy." Nezumi's voice trailed off at the end and he let out a long, deep breath. Shion felt the other boy's muscles slacken, his hands coming to intertwine on Shion's stomach, locking him in.

Shion couldn't see him, but Nezumi felt at ease. He felt calm. The past few weeks had been stressful. So of course Shion would smile to see Nezumi like this. Of course this small relief would make him shift his body and crane his neck to plant a kiss on Nezumi's forehead. And of course, this small comfort would prompt Shion to not register the heat radiating from Nezumi's forehead as he nestled himself back into Nezumi's arms, instantly falling into a peaceful, not-Nezumi filled sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A thanks to my friend in real life, who kept on muttering 'just forget it' into her jacket about five dozen times so I could get the sound of it juuuuuust right. By the end of it, however, she was screaming 'JUST FORGET IT!' at me since I had her do it so many times. *-*
> 
> Also, I mentioned before that I'm moving this over here from ff.net. While glancing over this chapter I realized that it wasn't copying the italics over (which I use whenever someone is directly thinking something), and I'm trying to fix it, but I really suck at proofreading soo...  
> If you see any place where someone is thinking something that isn't italicized, just tell me and I'll go fix it for sake of ease whilst reading! :D  
> Thanks!! <3


	7. Sick Day

Nezumi awoke before Shion.

At first, he had been startled to feel soft breath against base of his neck and arms wrapped around his sides. The second he looked down and saw Shion hugging him in his sleep, however, he just felt… content.

"Warm…" Nezumi murmured into Shion's silken hair, well aware of the fact that no one would hear him. He said this because it was true: Everything was hot, almost impossibly so. He wondered if it was only him, however, because air was cold, and so was the wall, when he reached out to touch it, just to be sure. He breathed in the icy air and spat it back out as fire like some mighty dragon from days gone by.

But yet, Shion was cool. It was as if his skin refused to be tainted by Nezumi and maintained a steady temperature that was cool to Nezumi's smoldering touch. But then again, Shion _was_ warm, as if he was soaking up Nezumi's heat. Warm ice. Frozen Sunlight. Burning snow. Flaming eyes and melting hair. Gently burning, gently freezing. Fire and ice at the same time. To Nezumi, Shion's skin felt like a drug. It was too nice, too stimulating, for Nezumi to even dream of letting go. It lulled his mind, calmed his heated breath. He craved more; he needed to touch more of Shion's skin, to know all of it.

When Nezumi moved his hands from Shion's waist to the base of his shirt, Shion responded by letting out a deep breath and shifting his head slightly. His lips brushed against Nezumi's collarbone in a faint kiss before he buried his head into Nezumi's shoulder, his arms tightening around Nezumi.

This only spurred on Nezumi's fervent crave. The fingers of one hand crept underneath the hem of Shion's shirt, playing with the skin they found there. His other hand made its way upwards until it reached the nape of Shion's neck. He traced small circles there, embedding the feel of it into his memory while leaving a small mark on Shion, like he had done the night before by biting him in that same place. Then he moved his fingers into Shion's hair, rubbing and tugging at each strand individually.

Shion's eyes fluttered open at this. "Mneh…" Still mostly asleep, he started to move away automatically, dragging his hands off of Nezumi's back, but Nezumi stopped him by flattening his palm against Shion's bare back, holding him in place.

"'Morning," Nezumi mumbled, his voice hoarse, his fingers still teasing Shion's skin and hair. The hand on Shion's back twisted so that his hand was now on Shion's stomach.

Shion finally realized what was going on. "Hey! N-Nezumi…!" Suddenly awake, he twisted in place as his face flushed beet-red.

"Stop squirming," Nezumi complained wearily. His assault on Shion's stomach changed course and moved, slowly, up to his chest, fingers capturing each millimeter of his skin.

"Nezumi, Nezumi, _Nezumi_!" Shion tried to jump out of Nezumi's reach while attempting to pull Nezumi's hands off of his chest and pull his shirt down at the same time. "Stop… what's with you?"

"Warm…" Nezumi breathed. "It's warm." His arms refused to let Shion go and pulled him even closer.

That stopped Shion immediately. He wriggled one hand up and out from Nezumi's grasp and pressed his hand against his captor's forehead. His eyes widened.

"Nezumi," Shion brushed Nezumi's bangs away from his forehead, "you're burning up!"

"I'm fine," Nezumi said, leaning into Shion's touch instinctively. "I have work today, anyways… I'm fine." It hurt to speak, but he wouldn't admit that.

When Shion leaned away again, Nezumi let him. Or, to be more precise, he didn't have the strength to stop him. He let out a low, silent growl as Shion slipped out of his arms and out from underneath the blankets before carefully crawling over Nezumi, careful not to step on him anywhere. Nezumi was tempted to pin him down on top of himself, but couldn't reach him in time. He shivered as he noticed a stream of cold air trickling over his skin.

"You're not fine," Shion told him. "Not for today, anyways."

"My job…"  
"You're the best actor the theatre has," Shion said, walking over to the kitchen. "It's not as if they're going to fire you for being sick for one day. Besides, I'm sure they'd want you to get better, too."

Right. The theatre. Shion still didn't know…

"But I'm not sick." Nezumi's protest probably would have been more convincing if he hadn't winced and coughed when he tried to sit up; his shaking arms gave way beneath him and he fell back to the bed, his head landing on the pillow with a _pluph._

Shion chuckled quietly. "I don't think I've ever seen you sick before, Nezumi. At least, not since we first met."

"That's because I don't get sick."

"I can see that."

Nezumi started to narrow his eyes, but stopped when it brought a sharp pain to the front of his head. "Are you being sarcastic with me?" He hated how breathless he sounded, how weak.

"Are you ever not being sarcastic with me?" Shion countered simply. He came back over to Nezumi with a fairly large glass bottle filled with a thick, swarming black liquid. "Here," he said, handing the bottle to Nezumi after twisting the top off. "Take a sip."

Nezumi eyed it warily. "What is it?"

"Poison."

Nezumi glared at Shion for half a second before breaking into a fit of coughing. He shivered and pulled up the blankets, not caring how stupid he may look by doing so. "It's cold."

Shion frowned. "I thought you said it was warm."

" _You_ were warm."

Shion flushed and his eyes darted away. "It's medicine," he muttered, refusing to look at Nezumi. "It'll help your throat, at the very least."

"Who said anything about my throat hurting?"

"You did. You sound awful."

"No worse than you." Nezumi flashed a grin that was quickly overtaken by a wave of rattling rasps.

Shion's brow furrowed. "Just stop talking, alright? It's got to hurt, and it'll only make it worse."

"As if you could get me to be quiet that _hcgugeh_."

"Nezumi!" Shion put one hand underneath Nezumi's shoulder and gently pulled him until he was sitting up. He held out the bottle. "Just take a sip already, okay?"

Nezumi shuddered violently. He wanted to go back underneath the blankets in an escape from the cold air biting at him. He wanted to go back to when Shion was hugging him underneath those blankets instead of handing him a vial of some unknown liquid that looked like something a child's worst nightmare would throw up. He wanted to go back to when he didn't have to lie to Shion.

He accepted the bottle reluctantly. He vaguely processed the fact that his fingers were shaking. "What is it?"

"Medicine."

"I know that, but what _is_ it?"

"Probably better not to know."

Nezumi sighed. "Of course." He forced himself to sniff it. It smelled like a fish that had been rotting for ten weeks after being hugged by a dead skunk. Nezumi gagged instantly, turning his head away from the bottle to suck in fresh air, no matter how cold it may be. "That. Is. _Foul_."

Shion shrugged. "I'm not the one who has to drink it."

Nezumi glowered at him and rasped, "Are you enjoying this, Shion?"

"Just drink some already." Maybe it was the fever getting to his head, but Nezumi could have sworn he saw Shion trying not to smile.

Nezumi held the bottle up. "You sure this will help?" He had to admit, it would be nice to get over this dang cold, or whatever it was, as soon as possible. It felt as if a hammer were trying to get outside of his skull, he was covered in sweat, he found it hard to breathe, and his throat was tight and sore.

Shion nodded. "Yeah. It may not taste too great, but you'll be better in no time. Just take a sip every few hours."

"Bottoms up, then." Squeezing his eyes shut and trying not to pay too much attention to what he was doing, Nezumi pressed the lip of the vial to his mouth and tilted it back, swallowing the syrupy liquid in mouthfuls until the bottle was empty a few seconds later. He tried not to notice the floating pieces of leaf-like objects in the medicine as he gulped it all down.

"Nezumi!" Shion grabbed the now-empty vial from him. "You weren't supposed to drink all of it!"

Nezumi resisted the urge to throw the medicine back up. "The more the merrier, right?"

Shion groaned. "Nezumi, this wasn't the kind of medicine that makes you drowsy until you fall asleep. There's still drugs in there, though. A few sips every few hours would only make you a bit more… _relaxed_ than normal, but…"

"Ah." Nezumi stared at the bottle in Shion's hand as he felt a tight knot of anxiety at Shion's tone at the word 'relaxed'. "And if you drink all of it…?"

"No idea." Shion rubbed the back of his head as he stood up. "Just don't blame me if you start bouncing off of the walls giggling about how everything is a dandelion in an hour or so."

Nezumi laid back down on the bed. He could feel the thick liquid swarming in his stomach like oil, or slime. Or slimy oil. Needless to say, it was extremely unpleasant.

"Hey." He could hear the frown in Shion's voice, even from across the room. "The water's not working."

Nezumi pulled the blankets back up, barricading himself in his fort of heat, trying to warm up. "Might be frozen," he offered hoarsely. He closed his eyes; maybe the drugs were already taking effect, or it could have just been the fact that he felt helpless that made him so tired. But he knew he wouldn't be able to fall asleep. It was difficult for him to breathe and he was shaking too much to even think of it. At the very least, he could rest.

He was tempted to open his eyes when he felt a hand on his forehead, brushing aside the bangs plastered to his forehead with sweat, but didn't. The warm-cold hand moved down to his cheek, cupping it for half a second before moving away. It wasn't until he heard the door creaking open, however, that he finally opened his eyes again.

"Shion?" His head tilted to see Shion at the other end of the apartment, hand on the doorknob. He was wearing his coat.

"It snowed last night," Shion said, hearing the question Nezumi couldn't say, "so I'm going to go get some snow since the water's frozen. I'll only be a minute."

Nezumi watched him leave wordlessly through half-lidded eyes that slowly drooped until they were shut once again.

Maybe he did get a few minutes of sleep after all, because the next thing he knew, he was waking up to the sound of a sneeze. With a calming buzz filling his head, he cracked his eyes open and saw Shion covering his face with his arm like some vampire from some cheesy movie.

Nezumi's lips drooped into a lopsided smile. "Draculaaaaaaaaaa…"

Shion stared at him. "…What?"

"Dracula sneezed… hah… wonder if he's allergic to blood…" Nezumi's smile widened as an airy giggle a _giggle_ escaped his lips.

Nezumi could see the concern instantly flooding Shion's face. No, it flooded his entire body: His toes pointed outwards slightly as the rest of his body tensed up, his shoulders stiffening and his hands, one of which was holding a large glass filled to the brim with a soft, sparkling white powder, locking in place; his ears moved back ever so slightly and his eyebrows leaned towards his nose and his eyes… even if the rest of his body didn't give it away, Nezumi could've plainly seen that Shion was worried by the way his eyes… melted. Melted like fresh snow placed before an age-old fire.

Nezumi's hand came out and he sloppily pointed at Shion before his hand fell back down again. "You, good fella, be… what is it… ah! You, sirey, be a book of open!" He could feel his head buzzing with the syrupy medicine of doom.

Shion walked over to him, slowly and carefully, as if he were walking through a field filled with mines. "Nezumi… are you… okay?"

"You sure ain't," Nezumi _tsked_. "Look at you!" He suddenly turned serious. He waggled a finger at Shion, gesturing for him to come closer. Shion took a step closer, and Nezumi gestured again. Shion walked closer until he was right next to the bed and, on Nezumi's insistent fingers, leaned over him.

"I think you should know," Nezumi whispered conspiratorially, "that a rainbow stole all the color from your hair." He leaned away from Shion, nodding gravely.

Shion raised an amused eyebrow. "Right. Of course."

Nezumi tapped his fingers against his chest. "Betcha I can get it back for yah."

"No, there's no need for that…" Shion handed him the glass of snow. "Here, Nezumi," he said in the tone of voice reserved for small children and pets, "drink this."

Nezumi snorted. "That, you sire of bloodless rainbows, is most definiteness _not_ , in fact, a liquid."

"Just put it in your mouth."

Nezumi grinned lazily. "That could be taken in so many different ways, you know."

Shion averted his gaze, and Nezumi could see him consciously trying not to blush. "Ergh… just… eat some…"

"Can you say pwetty pweash?"

"…Pwetty pweash."

Nezumi smiled approvingly, feeling a tinge of smugness as Shion fidgeted, his cheeks showing just how embarrassed he was. "Good boy." He patted Shion's cheek before accepting the glass. He tilted his head and the glass back and let some of the snow fall into his mouth. It melted as soon as it touched his tongue and trickled down the back of his throat. He immediately poured the rest down his throat.

It was Shion's turn to nod approvingly. "Doesn't that feel much nicer?"

Nezumi set the glass in the nightstand sideways. "Not as nice as you."

"The medicine will take a while to wear off," Shion said, ignoring Nezumi's drunken statement. "You'll be back to normal by morning… hopefully."

"Normal?" Nezumi's voice went an octave higher. "Buster, I am more _normal_ than you on any day of the night."

"Of course you are. So why don't you get some sleep like a totally normal person would?"

Nezumi narrowed his not-so-focused eyes. "You tryin' trick me, madame?"

"Madame, what?" Shion shook his head. "No. Just sleep. You'll feel better. Much better." He smiled. "And, naturally, you'll deny everything that you are currently saying."

"Deny? Me? Naw!" Nezumi waved a hand in the air. "Now you… _you_ seem to be all sorta upsies and downsies."

"What do you mean?"

Nezumi grabbed Shion's hand. "See? Steady. Steady like a horsie. Normally, if I were to touch you, you'd be all 'Ahhhhhhh, Nezumi!' or whatnot."

"I would not!"

"Yeah, yeah, hush up. But now… you… you're not a bumbling bumble bee of idiots. You're almost…" Nezumi chewed his lips for a second. "Competent. That's it. You're almost a couch of a fool. No. Wait. You're almost competent. That's what I says."

Shion huffed. "I think I'm a bit more than just 'competent' right now. Give me some credit."

"You freaked out this morning," Nezumi continued, his words and voice clearing up slightly, just enough to sound a little bit like his normal self. "When we woke up in bed together. You freaked out. Then calmed down."

A faint blush rose to Shion's cheeks, covering his neck along the way. "Not as if I had a choice," he answered quietly, not looking Nezumi in the eye. "I mean, I should at least to be able to take care of you when you're sick, right? I can't do much else besides clean and cook." He laughed softly.

Nezumi reached out to ruffle Shion's hair. "True blue, true blue… but I'll tell you something else… you're a dang fins good nurse."

"I think you meant 'fine,' but…" Shion smiled his appreciation at Nezumi's small, drugged-up praise.

Nezumi frowned. "Wait… your job… with the puppies… shouldn't you will have go there by then?"

"There's at least two feet of snow out there, and it's still snowing," Shion informed him, his eyes darting to the side. "It'd take me forever to get there, and I'd probably freeze to death on the way, never mind getting back." As if to prove his point, he sneezed again. "Besides," he added, sniffling, "I wouldn't feel right leaving you like…this."

"What are you insinani… insin… in _sinuating_?" Nezumi slurred. "I am as okey-dokey as the day the sky turned into mush."

Shion chuckled. "Man, I wish someone else could see this… no one would ever believe that you ever even thought of saying 'okey-dokey,' or even 'puppies,' for that matter."

Nezumi sat up. "That is a _fan-tast-tic_ ideal-o! Can we have a patty? A pitty? A… party! Party! With Puppykeeper and the tree-man, what's his branch…"

"Ryuga?"

Nezumi snapped his fingers. "Yes! Him! And the little children who poked me with a shtick! We can all drink snow together!"

Shion nodded. "That sounds like an amazing idea. How about I go get them while you sleep a little?"

"No. I'm not going to sleep." He crossed his arms over his chest, pouting like some little kid who didn't get his afternoon nap.

"Why not?"

"Because when I sleep, you'll leave. No. No sleep."

Shion softened. "I won't leave, okay?"

Nezumi was about to protest some more when a wave of dizziness washed over him. He fell backwards onto his pillow, panting. Shion immediately put a hand on his forehead.

"You're ice cold," Nezumi said, his dopey smile still plastered on his face.

"You're burning hot."

"No… I'm cold…"

Shion frowned. "You're covered in sweat… wait a second." He stood up and entered the bathroom. He came out a few seconds later with a clean shirt and a dry towel in hand. Without so much as blinking, he tugged at Nezumi to get him to sit up perfectly straight and then grabbed the edge of his sweat-soaked shirt, preparing to lift it over his head.

Nezumi's smile twisted teasingly. "You certainly move fast, dontcha? Never pegged you as that type of person, though… thought you'd like things _nice_ and slow." His words slurred together slightly and his voice was more rugged because of his sore throat, making his words sound even more sensual than he was purposely making it sound.

Shion froze, his fingers locked in place. "This isn't… that's not what…" He let go of Nezumi's shirt. "Just… here's a new shirt." He tossed the towel onto Nezumi's lap. "Clean off with this, then change into this shirt."

That idea sounded absolutely amazing to Nezumi, since he could feel his body covered with perspiration, his clothes sticking to his skin with it, and it was pretty gross, even if he wasn't in his right mind. But there was one thing that normal Nezumi and drugged-up Nezumi could agree on that would make it even more amazing and amusing…

Nezumi moaned, somewhat overdramatically. "I… I think I'm too… weak…" He gave Shion his most pitiful look, trying to appear as helpless as possible.

"Yeah. Right. Sure." Obviously, Shion wasn't buying it.

Nezumi let out a violent cough, one that racked his entire body. Half of it was real, and the other half was exaggerated, but it caught Shion's eye. Nezumi could practically see the other boy giving in, though he doubted it was because Shion actually believed him.

"…Fine…" Stiff as a board, Shion hooked his fingers underneath the hem of Nezumi's shirt, his hands as fumbling and awkward as a toddler on its first attempt at walking. Averting his eyes, he lifted it up, freezing every time he accidentally touched Nezumi's bare skin. At this rate, they would be here for a year, if not more. Nezumi decided to make it a bit easier for Shion by lifting his arms up over his head so that the dank shirt slid off with ease.

Laying the old shirt on the nightstand, Shion stood up and walked over to the kitchen where he had another large cup of snow ready and waiting. He brought it back over, holding it out to Nezumi.

"S-since the water's frozen," he said, still not looking at Nezumi or, more specifically, Nezumi's bare chest, "you'll have to put some of this on. It'll melt into water and then you can use it to clean yourself off a bit."

Nezumi started to giggle, but some still-sane part of him managed to turn it into a chuckle. "Not bad, not bad, not bad… Kinda smart today, ain't ya?"

"Well, you're not exactly being smart right now, are you?"

"Heyyyyyyyyyy!" Nezumi's voice went up an octave… or two. "I don't like that tone of voice, young mister sir!"

"You'll probably forget about it in the morning, anyways," Shion pointed out, a bit of his confidence returning.

"Nuh-uhhh!"

"Okay, okay, whatever you say." Shion held the cup of snow out more firmly. "Here."

Nezumi glanced at Shion out of the corner of his eye. "Do it for me?" He asked, his slyness masked by his high-pitched whine.

Half of Shion looked embarrassed, and the other half just sighed as if dealing with a child. "I… I guess…" He grabbed some of the snow with his fingers and placed it on Nezumi's shoulder. True to Shion's word, the snow melted as it touched Nezumi's flaming skin, slowly dripping down his pale, toned chest. Slowing down as he realized just how… _suggestive_ this looked, Shion put the rest of the snow over different parts of Nezumi's torso. He waited until it all melted he didn't have to wait long before picking up the dry towel and wiping Nezumi down, starting at the base of his neck.

He froze, however, when he reached Nezumi's collarbone. At first, Nezumi thought it was because Shion was shy and nervous, but he quickly realized that he had stopped for an entirely different reason.

"How'd you get this?" Shion pressed against an angry, dark bruise on Nezumi's otherwise colorless skin. Nezumi winced and Shion's hand retreated.

A small part of Nezumi's mind that wasn't muddled by the drugs stiffened. _I forgot…_ That part managed to grab hold of his tongue for half a second. "Just… some boxes fell. That's all."

"A lot of boxes?" Shion's fingers slid sideways and found another similar bruise on his shoulder as his eyes landed on several more decorating his upper body in various places.

Nezumi could only nod, feeling his hold on himself slipping away.

"At the theatre?" Shion had taken up the towel again and was now dragging it over Nezumi's skin, wiping all the sweat and melted snow off.

Nezumi hesitated even as another drug-induced smile crept up over his lips. Why couldn't he lie like he could before? Why did the false words he wanted to say only cause him to choke? It couldn't have just been because of the drugs, surely, though they were a large part of it. No, there was something else, something that was holding him back, forcing him to stop lying to Shion…

"Nezumi?" Shion's voice sounded almost fearful: fearful but still very, very worried. Nezumi could hear it all in his pure, innocent voice. There was nothing Shion could hide from him. There was nothing Shion _would_ hide from him. That fact was the thing blocking Nezumi's lies, urged on by the drugs.

"Answer me, Nezumi." More worry. More fear. Fear of what? That Nezumi had been lying to him the whole time? That was true enough. Or was it fear _for_ Nezumi? He couldn't be certain.

"Hahah…" Nezumi wrapped one arm around his own shoulder as if hugging himself. His already blurry world became even more blurry, even more muddled, as he lost to the drugs in his system, but it was different from before. "The theatre… isn't that such a nice, nice place? So nice… so many words… so many acts… hahahah…"

"Nezumi… what's wrong? What are you talking about?"

"Nothiiiiiiiiing," Nezumi half-sang. He doubled over as an army of coughs tore themselves out of his throat, but after they all left him, he started to laugh. "Good, good, good… All's well that ends well, right, right?"

Shion picked up the shirt on the nightstand. "Put this on and go to sleep, alright?"

"No, no, I'm fine now… fine, fine, fine." Another giggle, one that he couldn't even begin to stop.

"Of course you're fine," Shion cooed. "And that means that you're fine enough to sleep."

"Only if you'll sleep with me."

He could see Shion gulp. "I'll be right here. So just lie down." He put the shirt in Nezumi's hands, prompting him to put it on.

Nezumi frowned. "You're lying." He sounded exactly like some child who hadn't slept nearly as long as he should have. "You're going to leave."

"I won't, I promise."

"You're lying." His accusatory protest fell into a garbled laugh. "Just like I'm lying."

Shion stopped moving, stopped breathing. "…What?"

On the other side of the light, colorful haze, Nezumi tried to stop himself from saying anything more. He didn't want Shion to worry. He didn't want him to worry. Didn't want…

He grabbed Shion's hand and brought it to his collarbone, placing it directly over the bruise. "Theatre don't have much work now," he heard himself say in mock seriousness. "So gotta get job elsewhere. Managed to get some cheap work… manual labor… working working working… not enough to pay for heat… still not enough… hahahahah… haven't gotten paid by theatre for weeks now… ganna have a show in a few days, but it won't pay much… not enough… been lying… lying…" His words drooped as his energy quickly fled from his body as if ashamed of what he was saying to Shion.

Shion slowly drew his hand away. Nezumi couldn't see though the murk enough to see his eyes, but he could feel that Shion was hurt. Hurt by Nezumi's words as well as the fact that he'd been lied to for so long.

"That's nice." Shion's voice sounded sweet and soothing, but Nezumi could hear the hollowness in it. Shion held the shirt up to Nezumi yet again and he put it on dutifully. Once he had it on, Shion's hands pressed against his shoulders again, touching him, but yet so far away, so distant. "You need to get some rest now."

Nezumi let himself be pushed by those hands. "You'll stay? You won't be gone when I wake up?"

"I'll be here."

Nezumi's drugged-up part of his conscious let himself smile at that promise and close his eyes, while the other part of his conscious his normal, rational part heard the pain in those words, and thought about how he could begin to make it up to Shion, even in his dreams.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those of you who actually read these fun little A/N, you know that medicine Nezumi drank in this chapter? How many of you thought I made that up with my weird imagination? Can I see a show of hands?
> 
> (Thank you, all of you who actually raised your hands.)
> 
> That medicine that Nezumi drank actually exists, God forbid.
> 
> How do I, a simple little fangirl living in the middle of nowhere, know this, you may ask?
> 
> Because I had to drink it. ;_; A couple of years ago at school, I kept on coughing all day long. I felt fine, but I just couldn't stop coughing. My class kept on exiling me to the office since I kept on disturbing them with my coughing. Eventually, one day, the owner of the school, a sixty-seventy year old lady who is a terrifying demon (yet also really nice), saw me in the office coughing my soul up, and she was like, "I have this medicine! Give me a second!"
> 
> Now, I did have to improvise the outer looks of the medicine Nezumi drank, since I had to drink it out of an opaque thermos, so I couldn't actually see it, and it did NOT have drugs in it that made me act like... that... but other than that, that medicine Nezumi had to drink was the exact medicine I had to drink.
> 
> Suffer Nezumi. Suffer as I had to suffer. *slow grin* I am no longer alone in having to drink that horrid, horrid glop. *shudder*


	8. Silent Day

Shion was watching when Nezumi woke up.

It was strangely surreal, this time, like some foreign dance might be. Normally, Nezumi went from a light sleep to a sharp alertness in half a blink. But this time probably because of some leftover effects of the drugs in the medicine was slower, almost dreamlike. Shion watched as Nezumi's eyes fluttered once, twice. Nezumi stretched, still mostly asleep, yawning. He went limp again, his lips parting just enough to let out a small sigh. When he opened his eyes again a few seconds later, they were only half-open. He looked around the room blearily, obviously somewhat confused. His murky eyes landed on Shion.

"Hm… Shion…" The corners of his lips dripped upwards, most likely in the process of smiling, and his eyes closed once again, but he suddenly stopped. His eyes widened. "Shion." All sleepiness was gone instantly, the almost-smile slipping from his face.

"Feeling better?" Shion ignored Nezumi's obvious moment of remembrance, ignored the guilt in those heated gray eyes, and stood up. He picked up the chair next to Nezumi's bed that he had been sitting on and moved it back to the kitchen table.

"How… how long was I asleep?" It sounded like Nezumi had been about to ask something else, but had changed his mind mid-sentence, choosing safer words instead.

"A day," Shion answered dutifully. "Snow's finally stopped, and the water's running again, barely. But there's still too much snow to actually go anywhere."

"I see," Nezumi said slowly, taking a second to process this report. Then he sat up, kicking the blankets off of himself and throwing his legs over the side of the bed. "…Where did you sleep?"

"Couch," Shion said, his words a mix between a truth and a lie: He had tried to go to sleep, but his mind wouldn't stop thinking, wouldn't stop picking apart Nezumi's words from the previous morning. Plus, it wasn't exactly paradise, what with it being so cold. He had been tempted, many times, to crawl back under the blankets with Nezumi, but he couldn't. His body wouldn't let him. Or was it his mind who wouldn't let him? He couldn't really tell. Not that it mattered, anyways.

"I'm sorry." Nezumi had mumbled just loud enough to be heard, but at the same time, it sounded as if those words weren't meant to be heard, like they were miles and miles away in some distant place that didn't have any lies or truths or betrayal.

"Couldn't be helped." Shion shrugged as casually as possible. "You were sick. Not as if there was anywhere else to sleep."

"Shion, I'm-"

"I already said it's fine. Not as if you could change it."

Shion knew what Nezumi was really aiming to apologize for. He already knew what Nezumi was going to say. Even he wasn't _that_ blind. But he couldn't listen to Nezumi say those words. It wasn't right. _He_ was lying, too. Still was. Nezumi came clean. He'd done what was 'right.' Sure, he probably wouldn't have if he hadn't been under the influence of medicinal drugs, but still…

Shion didn't watch Nezumi get up, toss the blankets into some pathetic form of neatness, and enter the bathroom. He tried to ignore each little sound that Nezumi made each footstep, every creak of the door but that only made him hear it all the more. He thought he could hear Nezumi's heartbeat from another room entirely, thought he could hear his heart beating steadily inside his ribcage. Each breath Nezumi was sure to take in was in Shion's ears. He heard nothing, really, but he heard everything Nezumi did. It came as a slight shock that his mind filled in each sound so easily, as if it were as natural as his own breathing. He had registered that he had been paying close attention to Nezumi for a while now, admiring his powerful grace, but to this extent?

As soon as the door shut behind Nezumi, sealing them apart, Shion sighed and sank down onto the couch. His heart was beating fast and hard enough to power an entire city. He hadn't realized how hard it would be to look at Nezumi. It was like opening your eyes first thing in the morning and looking directly at the sun. It made you wince and shut your eyes again immediately. It hurt.

Even so, Shion didn't know _why_ it hurt. It wasn't as if he hated Nezumi. He didn't really feel mad at Nezumi. He just felt… what was it? He had the word flittering around in his head, but whenever he tried to think on it enough to name it, it shied away, always just out of his reach. What was it…

_Nezumi lied to me._

Those were the words accompanying that other impossible word, protecting it.

_He lied to me._

But he wasn't angry, even though he suspected that he probably should feel angry. He didn't feel like punching Nezumi or never speaking to him again. That much was obvious.

So what was it?

The bathroom door opened. Startled, Shion made the mistake of looking up. Nezumi walked over in fresh clothes and a wet head, a towel in one hand.

"Water's freezing," he commented simply. "Not surprising, really."

"I'd be surprised if it were warm," Shion stated.

"I'd be happy if it were warm."

They were speaking. They might have been standing a little too stiffly, and their words might have been a little bit wooden, but the two of them were speaking relatively normally. Somehow, however, Shion wasn't sure if he should be happy or hurt by that.

"You feeling better?" The words were out of Shion's mouth before he remembered that until recently, Nezumi had been giggling about puppies and horsies.

Nezumi nodded on his way over to the bookshelves. "A bit tired, I guess. Other than that, I'm perfectly fine." His eyes grazed the books, only giving each one half a glance, but in that instant, he knew all about that book.

Shion was always amazed when he watched Nezumi pick a book to read. Nezumi knew all the books there better than the back of his own hand. No, they _were_ his hands. In Nezumi's sharp eyes, Shion could see him flick through each and every word in a book with that half a glance, instantaneously deciding whether or not he was in the mood for that book. And sometimes he would gently tap the spine of a book, almost as if apologizing for not picking that book that day. Anyone could see in an instant how much he cared for those books, how well he knew them.

Shion's eyes were focused on Nezumi's decisive hands, watching them dance across the seemingly endless supply of books, lightly stroking some and tapping others. They fell smoothly through the air for one second before landing on the shelf beneath the one they were just appraising. Against his will, Shion's gaze traveled up Nezumi's arm and reached his eyes. They were as beautiful, if not more beautiful, than his hands. That look that gleamed in them. That understanding. It made Shion's heart speed up, almost painfully so. Nezumi knew each book inside and out, knew what filled them, what made each and every book it's own story, own entity. He knew each book perfectly, and it reflected in his silver eyes.

_What would it feel like to be looked at like that…?_

The thought slipped into Shion's mind so easily that he didn't even notice that he was thinking it. What would it feel like to have someone look at him and know everything about him? Invasive, probably. It might make him feel exposed, vulnerable. It might even make him feel weak.

But what would it feel like to have _Nezumi_ look at him like that?

Shion felt the blood rush to his burning cheeks as his heart beat a hundred times harder in his chest. He closed his eyes, clenching his hands into fists at his sides, and took deep breaths. It was his own way of trying to calm himself down and regain control of his own thoughts. With each breath, the heat in his face ebbed away. His heart was still out of his complete control, but he didn't think he was blushing anymore, so he opened his eyes again.

Glowing silver. That was the first thing he saw. And this time, it was looking straight at him. It was looking _into_ him.

A shudder ran down Shion's spine. Nezumi was looking away from the books and at him, but the look in his eyes hadn't gone away. Shion wanted to look away, but he couldn't. Nezumi's eyes were locking him into place, as if they were pure ice creeping over him, covering every inch of him with their glow. But they weren't just covering. Part of that silver-ice was melting into icy streams and seeping into Shion, trickling over his skin. It made him shiver, but it felt almost… pleasant. Like the ice was protecting him by encasing him, or embracing him. It made his skin flare up with heat even while he shivered with cold. It made Shion fidget it place and finally made his eyes look away.

_This… this is what it feels like…_

Nezumi knew Shion. Knew what made him laugh, what made him cry. He knew how to make Shion feel relaxed or how to make him feel distressed. Even if Nezumi didn't know that he knew, he knew. He knew _Shion_ , even if he didn't know about Shion's little job at the grocery stand.

And that's just what it was. A little job. It wasn't really important. Nezumi had had to get one, too, and had also lied about it. Shion knew that, most likely, Nezumi had a good reason for lying about it, just like Shion's reason was that he didn't want to worry Nezumi, though he wasn't sure whether that was good enough or not. It wasn't much. It certainly wasn't worth all this tension and awkwardness and guilt.

But…

Shion looked away.

Nezumi's eyes lingered on him, then, eventually, turned back towards his books with a sigh. A second later, he picked a book and, sitting down on the bed, began to read. Shion grabbed the broom and began to sweep. He swept the room once, twice. He organized the room. He re-organized the room. He swept again. He tidied up the bookshelves as much as he dared without disturbing Nezumi's precise system. Nezumi read. Shion cleaned again and again and again.

And for the rest of the day, neither of them said a single word, both thinking of the other, both thinking about how to apologize to the other, but both of them completely lost.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gawd, I nearly died writing those last few paragraphs... so frikkin embarrassing...


	9. Big Brother's Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Idk why I named this chapter that but I'm too lazy to come up with a diff name so enjoy the super awkward name.

"Hey, Shion, something wrong?"

Shion jumped as an arm was slung around his shoulder and a face wearing a smiled twisted with worry appeared at the corner of his vision. "N-no… Not really…" Shion sighed. "Nothing, I guess…" He instantly knew that he had yet to convince his co-worker, Jean, with his pathetic acting.

"Idiot," Jean huffed, proving that Shion was correct. "Obviously something is bothering you. Even a blind person could see that."

Shion shrugged his way out from underneath the weight of Jean's arm. "Well, you're wrong."

Jean frowned, his usually sunny face dimming. "I know that we haven't known each other for very long, but I already consider you a friend," he said, a solemn gleam in his caramel eyes. "So you can tell me what's bugging you, and then I can cheer you up!" He tucked a lock of his chocolate brown hair behind his ear as he grinned.

Shion gave him a small smile and, surprisingly, only about eighty-five percent of it was forced. "Thanks, Jean. I think of you as a friend, too." Maybe it was best to tell someone. He might feel better if he told Jean about the sticky situation he was in with Nezumi at the moment. Maybe Jean could even give him some advice. "If you're okay with it…" He hesitated.

Jean's head bobbed eagerly, his eyes lighting up. "Yeah, what?"

"Then… maybe could we… talk later?"

Jean beamed. "Yeah! Totally! Of course!" His gaze was drawn to the front of the store as a young woman slipped out from the stream of people in the street and headed towards the food stand he and Shion were working.

"I'll handle the customer," Jean said as he stepped away from Shion. "You finish stacking these crates, yeah?"

Shion nodded. "Got it."

While he finished up organizing the indicated crates, Shion glanced at Jean from time to time. With his shoulder-length dark hair, half of it being pulled into a ponytail-that gave him a carefree sort of look-his constant, somewhat lazy, smile, his shining eyes, and the fact that he was pretty tall, several inches taller than Shion anyways, Jean looked like almost like he could be anyone's big brother. He acted the part, too. He made his customers laugh and made them feel at ease. Well, he made pretty much everyone and anyone feel at ease. Shion knew that Jean was serious when it was necessary, and that only made him even more dependable.

Jean's eyes flickered towards Shion on one of the intervals that Shion was looking at him. Jean kept gazing at Shion, whose eyes widened, as he leaned in towards the young lady. He whispered in her ear for a second and she nodded and whispered something back. Then he raised his voice.

"Hey," Jean stage-whispered loud enough for Shion to hear, "I think my friend over there is admiring your beauty."

A faint blush dusted Shion's cheeks. "Stop that, Jean!"

The girl giggled as Jean jumped up, hands in the air in surrender. "Right, right, sorry… Should've known you'd want to tell her yourself." He winked.

Shion picked up the closest fruit, an apple, and chucked it at Jean. Jean caught in neatly in one hand and, in one sweeping motion, held it out to his now-smiling customer. "There is your apple," he said, grinning. "Told ya I could get it for you without taking a single step."

The girl giggled again as she handed Jean some money. "Guess you were right! Thank you so much!" With that, she slipped back into the crowd.

Normally, Shion would've gotten mad at Jean and scolded him for messing around and for using Shion like that. But this time, he didn't. All he could think about was how that was something that Nezumi probably would have done, perhaps not for the entertainment of a customer or even for anyone else, but for his and Shion's personal amusement. He would have smirked his smirk and Shion would have complained, but he would have been trying not to show his own smile.

That is, that was something Nezumi would have done if they hadn't both been lying to each other.

"Hey. Hey, Shion, I'm sorry."

Shion was brought out of his thoughts by a frowning Jean.

"I was just kidding, yeah? I didn't mean to offend you or make fun of you."

Shion shook his head. "You didn't offend me. Really."

Jean's shoulders slumped with relief. "Oh, good. You got this weird look on your face, so I thought that I had somehow made you hate me."

"No, that's not…" Shion trailed off, suddenly unsure of what he was about to say. His mind had been wandering all day, and it didn't look like it was about to stop now. He just couldn't keep his mind off of Nezumi.

Jean put a hand on Shion's shoulder. "Hey, c'mon, our shift is almost over. Then we can walk and talk, yeah? Let some of your thoughts out, lighten your heart, blah blah blah… Sound good?"

Shion smiled. "Sounds good."

* * *

"Huh." Jean rubbed the back of his head. "That _does_ sound like a bit of a predicament." He kicked at a large pebble and sent it skidding across the gravel.

Shion sighed. "Yeah…"

He had summed up the event of the past several days for Jean, though he had opted to leave a few things out. Such as the fact that he and Nezumi had ended up sleeping together, or the fact that he had had to help Nezumi strip. Shion didn't really think that those facts were something that Jean had to know.

Jean looked up at the gray sky in thought. "I can't quite say that something like this has ever happened to me, but… isn't it best just to tell him the truth?"

"I already know that," Shion sighed tiredly. "Obviously. But… how? I mean, won't he hate me? And how do I even bring that up without offending him? I can't just go up to him and say, 'Oh, hey, Nezumi, I've been lying to you for the past week or so just like you have! Merry Christmas!'"

Jean chuckled. "Maybe you shouldn't say it as cheerfully as that…" He stopped walking and looked Shion over from head to toe, his gaze raking over every inch of Shion's exposed skin, making Shion shift uncomfortably.

"Jean?" Shion had stopped walking when Jean had and was now trying not to squirm under the taller boy's intense stare. For a second, Jean's ordinarily cheerful eyes were narrowed, and the corners of his lips were turned down in a frown. "Wh-what is it?"

"Turn around."

Shion's skin prickled at the hard edge in Jean's voice. "What?"

"I said turn around."

Shion faltered, startled by the sudden change in Jean's entire being. But, slowly, he did as he was told: he turned until he completely had his back towards Jean. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up on end as Jean's cold gaze slid down Shion's back, and then back up to his neck and stuck there, almost like an insect sucking his blood. No, it was more like a block of ice was burrowing itself into Shion's neck in an attempt to hollow out his neck.

Shion spun around to face Jean, not being able to take that strange look any longer. "Jean, what-"

"Ahaha," Jean laughed heartily and slung an arm around Shion's shoulders, starting to walk once again. "It was nothing. Guess I'm just kinda tired, yeah?"

"Oh… okay…" Shion's skin was still crawling, but looking at Jean's smiling face, it was hard to believe that he had ever spoken so harshly or glared at Shion like… like _that_ , whatever 'that' was. Shion shook his head. _Maybe I'm just imagining things…_

"Now," Jean announced jauntily, "I seem to have come up with an idea to help you with your little relationship issues with… Nezumi, was it?"

Shion nodded eagerly. He didn't notice the flicker in Jean's eyes as he said Nezumi's name. "You do?" Shion asked with wide, shining eyes.

"Sure!" Jean's arm draped across Shion's shoulders gave him a little squeeze. "I'll help you out, Shion. _But,_ " he held up one finger, "you have to come hang out with me for a few hours, yeah?"

Shion hesitated and looked at the darkening sky. "It's getting kind of late…" He knew that Nezumi would worry about him if he stayed out too late. He smiled softly as he brought up a mental image of Nezumi casually holding a book in one hand while lounging on the couch like he always did when Shion was late, trying to look as if he had been reading like that for hours even though it was quite plain that he was still on the first page.

Jean glanced at Shion's face, mainly focusing on that small smile of his. "You know," Jean said thoughtfully, bringing Shion out of his thoughts of Nezumi, "a little worry might just do Nezumi some good. So don't worry so much about him worrying about you, got it?"

Shion jumped. His face flushed as Jean read his thoughts aloud for him. "How did you know?"

Jean chuckled. "Believe me, Shion, it's written all over your face." His grin wavered for the briefest of moments. "Pretty much anything you think about Nezumi is written all over your face."

Shion turned his face away from Jean to try to hide his deepening blush. "Oh… Is… is that so…?"

Their steps slowed down for a few seconds, but then Jean let his arm drop from around Shion's shoulders and grabbed Shion's hand. "C'mon!"

"Whoa! Wa-wait!" Shion yelped as he was suddenly being dragged through the streets of the Lower District at an incredibly fast pace. He was forced to run along behind Jean or else be dragged along behind him. "Slow down!"

Jean laughed. "I'll slow down when we're done hanging out for the day, and then you can go back to Nezumi." He looked over his shoulder and flashed an impish grin at Shion. "But for the next few hours, you're mine!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... What do you all think of Jean so far? Like? Dislike? Love? Hate? Want to see him drown in a pool of orange juice(someone actually said something like that about another OC I made in a diff fanfic. XD)? Because hey, at this point, anything could happen. :)


	10. Resolution Day

"Cold…" Shion shivered and wiggled his hand around a little to search for a blanket without having to open his leaden eyelids. He knew there had to be a blanket nearby since he dimly remembered being covered with a blanket a few minutes ago. But instead of landing on a strip of fuzzy warmth, his hand landed on something hard, but squishy at the same time. Nezumi's arm, Shion reasoned. He must be hogging the blanket again… He started to tug on the arm, trying to get its owner's attention.

"Nezumi," Shion moaned, "Just gimme some already…"  
"You might want to specify what you want given to you," a nearby voice snickered, "or you just might get a bit more than what you asked for."

Shion forced his eyes open to find the source of the voice. The first thing he saw, however, was the intent gaze of a pair of laughing caramel eyes only a few inches away from his own bright red eyes.

"Ewagah!" Shion shrieked and jumped up and away from the eyes while simultaneously trying to roll over off of his stomach and onto his side. He ended up flat on his back on the floor less than a foot away from where he had started, his head banging against the wooden boards in the process. "Urgh…" Shion curled in on himself and rubbed the fresh, throbbing lump on the back of his head.

Jean chuckled. "Real smooth, Shion. Real smooth." He pushed himself off of the ground and sat up, legs crossed. "You always scream like a little girl when you wake up?"

Shion frowned with embarrassment as he straightened himself out. "Of course not! And I did not-"

"So you only scream like that for me, yeah?" Jean's smile was crooked and lazy, his eyes half-lidded, but sharp. "Now wouldn't that just make Nezumi green with jealousy."

Shion blinked at the mention of Nezumi, his heart pounding hard in his chest as he looked around. "Wait a… where am I? What's going on?"

He didn't recognize the room he was in, though it felt vaguely familiar to him. It was small, with a bed and dresser pressed against one side of the room and a small bookshelf, neatly lined with a dozen or so books that Shion didn't recognize, on the other side. There was a picture frame on top of the bookshelf and a window above it; golden streams of light were slipping through the holes in the faded curtains. It wasn't much to look at, but it was tidy and… homey.

"My room," Jean informed Shion as he stood up and casually brushed off his pants.

"Your room?" Shion looked around again, as if seeing it through new eyes. "Why… why am I in your room?" His gaze passed over the window once again, then moved back there and stayed as his heart started to pound faster in a panic.

"Shion?" Jean ventured, seeing the look in Shion's eyes. "Are you-"

"What time it is?" Shion demanded, standing up swiftly.

Jean took the smallest step backwards, startled by the sudden change in Shion's demeanor. "I don't know. Sometime before noon, I guess."

Shion's eyes widened. "I stayed here for the entire night?"

Jean's little smile returned. "Yeah. We hung out for a couple hours, but then you got so tired that you were practically sleepwalking, so I brought you back here since we ended up at a store not too far away from here, yeah?" Jean stretched his arms above his head and yawned. "You were only supposed to rest for a few minutes before heading home, but you passed out the second you sat down."

"Oh." Even though Shion was itching to go back to Nezumi, his memory was a bit blurry, so he just had to ask one more question: "What, exactly, did we do yesterday, Jean?"

Jean stared at him for a few seconds. "You… you don't remember?"

Hesitantly, Shion shook his head.

"That hurts, Shion. That really hurts." Jean wiped away an imaginary tear. "After all we've been through… you would just… forget?" He covered his face with his hands, shaking his head slowly and let out deep, shuddering breaths.

"Ah, no," Shion's eyes widened as Jean's shoulders began to tremble. After a second of wondering what on earth he was supposed to do, Shion awkwardly placed a hand on Jean's shoulder. "I'm… sorry. I guess I was just distracted and kind of tired, so…"

All of a sudden, Jean laughed and moved his hands away from his face and smirked at Shion. "I'd say you were more than 'kind of' tired. You saw a man holding a dog and you told him, 'oh, that's a really cute baby you got there! He looks just like you!' Then you started to speak baby talk to the dog! Hah!"

Shion's stomach twisted with embarrassment. "R-really?"

Jean nodded eagerly. "You betcha! Then when the man said that he was going to punch you so hard that your brain would drop into your shoes, you giggled and said, 'oh, my brain's supposed to say in my head, silly!'"

"I-I'm really sorry…" Shion apologized sheepishly, his burning cheeks showing his humiliation. "I must have been quite a handful."

Jean waved away Shion's apology. "Hey, man, no problem. Dragging you away before you get murdered by some man holding an ugly dog is what friends are for, yeah?"

Shion smiled. "Yeah. Thanks."

Jean grinned impishly. "And of course, all I ask for in exchange is that you honor the promise you made me on the way back here."

Shion's brow furrowed. "Promise? What promise?"

"Y'know… the promise you made to 'pay' me back for helping you with Nezumi? Remember what I told you and what I gave you?" Jean bent over and brought a bag out from underneath his bed and, standing up straight again, dangled it in front of Shion's face.

"Oh, yeah, right," Shion nodded while taking the bag. He smiled again. "Thanks for that. Really. So… tomorrow evening?"

Jean's grin widened. "Sounds good to me."

Shion looked at the brown ragtag bag and suddenly remembered his situation. "Nezumi! I forgot! Wait," he started looking around the room "where are my shoes and coat?"

The corners of Jean's lips twitched downwards. "What, leaving so soon?"

"Yeah, Nezumi will be worried." Seriously, where on earth were his shoes and coat?

"Your things are in the living room," Jean said absently before continuing in a stronger voice, "Can't you at least stay for a little while longer and grab a bite to eat with me?"

Shion shook his head. "No, I'm fine. I Just have to get back to Nezumi or he'll…" Shion trailed off. He wasn't really sure what Nezumi would do. Whenever Shion was really late before, Nezumi would just stay up waiting for Shion while trying to make it look like he had only stayed up to read instead of worrying.

But Shion wasn't merely a few minutes or even an hour late this time. He had been gone the entire night without saying so much as a whisper of his whereabouts or when he would be back or who he was with to Nezumi. Plus there was that whole speaking-not-speaking thing going on…

"Hey, um, is…" Jean cleared his throat. "Is Nezumi really that strict?"

"What?" Shion started, both from being confused and from being startled. "No, it's… what? No, it's not like that."

"So what will he do once you get back there?"

"I'm… I'm not sure…" Shion frowned and, unthinkingly, curled his hands into fists. "I really don't know what he's going to do."

Jean watched Shion, who was looking at the ground with dismay, then put a hand on the smaller boy's shoulder. "Y'know, you don't have to go back, yeah? You can stay here."

Shion shrugged off Jean's hand, not really getting what he actually meant. "No, waiting will only make things worse. I have to see him now. I'm going to talk to him." As if strengthened by his own words, his hands unclenched and he opened the door and stepped out of Jean's bedroom and into the living room, which was only slightly larger than the former room.

Jean followed, his mouth set in a straight line instead of its usual curved smirk, as Shion grabbed his coat off of the back of the small couch and found his shoes next to the front door.

"If you want…" Jean stopped and, after watching Shion slip on first his shoes then his coat, started again. "If you ever need to… to get away or something, you come right here, yeah?"

Shion let out a small laugh. "Get away? What would I need to get away from?"

Jean shrugged. "I don't know. Anything. Doesn't matter."

"Got it. I'll come straight here." A wave of cold air flooded the room as Shion opened the front door. He turned to Jean. "Well… I'll see you tomorrow. Thanks for everything."

Jean gave Shion his best, brightest smile. "Good luck, Shion."

Encouraged by this, Shion returned the smile and headed out the door, shutting it behind him. He didn't stay long enough to see the deep scowl that overwhelmed Jean's smile.

The apartment was empty.

Shion reasoned that it was only midmorning, so Nezumi was probably at work or something. Still, the small room felt so… cold. It wasn't cold like Shion had just walked outside in the middle of a snowstorm without a coat on, and it wasn't cold like someone giving him an icy stare, but… cold. The type of cold that has nothing to do with temperature and crawls underneath your skin. As if the apartment had been neglected. No, it felt as if it had been abandoned.

Shion shook that weird, wrong feeling off. It was probably just his nervous mind trying to mess with him. He set the bag with its contents that he had gotten with Jean down on the couch and took off his coat and draped it over the arm of the couch. Outside, the snow from the blizzard was almost completely gone, except for a few large heaps of it here and there, and with it went the freezing weather. It wasn't warm by any standards, but Shion definitely didn't have to sleep with a mountain of blankets on top of him as well as a sweater.

He looked around, trying to think of something to do. He wasn't going to just sit there waiting for Nezumi, even if that was exactly what he wanted to do. His eyes lit up when he saw that the bed was all messed up, but then his small joy at the prospect of something to do vanished. Nezumi always made the bed if he was the last one to use it, which he would have been that night. Always.

So why didn't he this time?

Shion shook his head. It was nothing. Just an unmade bed. That's it. Nezumi was probably just in a hurry because he slept in or something.

Except, of course, he never slept in…

In a rush, Shion went to the bed and quickly, but neatly, pulled up the blankets, tugged at them until they were perfectly smooth, then tucked them in at the edges. For a single minute, his mind was completely focused on that lone little bed. Everything was okay.

And then that minute ended.

The bed was made. Nezumi still wasn't back.

Shion sat on the couch, elbows on his knees, chin in his hands. Nezumi might not be back from the theatre, or whatever other job he had, until nightfall, and that wouldn't be unusual. They might go without so much as seeing each other for more than twenty-four hours, the both of them not knowing exactly where the other was. That had never happened before.

When did I leave for work yesterday? Shion asked himself within the confines of his own mind. Mid-afternoon? Yeah, that sounds about right… It's around noon, so… A few more hours will be a full day…

A day. The time had passed so quickly since yesterday, but now it felt as though everything that had happened yesterday happened a year ago. And how had he left things with Nezumi? Nezumi had lied to him, then told him, even if he didn't really mean to, but he still told, and that was something.

And what did I do? Shion smiled, but there was no happiness in it. I didn't 'confess', even then.

It was all so… stupid.

All this. For absolutely nothing that mattered.

Stupid.

He pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes, measuring each breath that filled his lungs. Shards of icy air were piercing his chest from the inside. It burned, but kept him tethered to that room, that time. He didn't have to think about what might be going on outside those walls. He didn't have to think about how tight his heart felt, how constricted. All he had to think about was the frigid air clawing its way down his throat.

Dhrlick. Keeeeirck-thudunk.

The door. That was the door, wasn't it? Shion looked up, trying to quench the hope fluttering his chest, just in case, but failing. But he didn't need to, anyways.

The door was wide open, letting in more cold air, and in the middle of the doorway stood Nezumi, staring at the floor, his brow knitted together. He sighed, took two steps inside the apartment, then actually looked at the room. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Shion on the couch.

"Nezumi." Shion stood up. On his way back, he had thought about what he had wanted to tell Nezumi, word for word, but he had forgotten everything when he saw the desolate room. And now, he couldn't even remember what he had wanted to speak about in the first place. Something about stupid.

Nezumi's eyes went wide. Shion couldn't help but notice that there were dark shadows under those glowing gray eyes, and Nezumi's skin was slightly paler than it had been yesterday. He looked haggard, worn-out.

Nezumi walked over to Shion, his eyes no longer wide but narrowed as he stood less than a foot away from Shion. Shion met Nezumi's relentless glare with his own unblinking stare. He didn't care if Nezumi was angry. He was just glad to see him again. Nezumi could be angry all he wanted. So Shion stood there, waiting for Nezumi to shake him by the shoulders or whack him on the back of the head or something. He'd take it all gladly if it just meant that Nezumi would touch him again.

Nezumi's hand reached out and gently settled on top of Shion's head, softly rustling his snow-white hair. "Dammit," Nezumi hissed through his teeth. Shion opened his mouth to respond but was interrupted when Nezumi's hand went to the back of the Shion's head while Nezumi's free arm curled around the smaller boy's waist. Before Shion could get so much as a squeak out, he was pulled until he was pressed up against Nezumi's body and tightly enclosed in his cold-soaked arms. Shion shivered at the touch of Nezumi's iced skin.

"Dammit," Nezumi repeated, his chin landing harshly on Shion's head. "Where the hell were you? I lo…" The vibrations of Nezumi swallowing reverberated throughout Shion's entire body. "I thought you were gone."

Shion didn't move, his mind too muddled with too many different thoughts to even know how to begin to respond. "What do you mean, gone?"

Nezumi's muscles stiffened. "I don't know. Kidnapped. Killed. Or that you…" Another swallow. His grip on Shion's hair tightened. "That you left on your own. For good."

He's so cold… Slowly, Shion wrapped his arms around Nezumi's torso. "You thought I left you?" He chuckled nervously. "Who's the idiot now?"

There was no response to this strangled attempt at lightening the mood, nor did Shion expect one. Shion could feel Nezumi's chest expanding with slow, deep breaths. Was he… was Nezumi trying to calm himself down? That's what it felt like to Shion. Instinctively, Shion gently pressed his face into Nezumi's shoulder. He thought he was doing it for Nezumi, as if to tell him that he was really here, but then Shion's hands on Nezumi's shoulder blades clutched at his jacket. He could smell the lingering cold on Nezumi, as well as the faint smell of books and trees and fresh rain that belonged only to Nezumi.

Shion was vaguely aware of his warm eyes. They had been warm from even before Nezumi had come home, and now they were starting to heat up again.

Nezumi's back. He's here. Those words kept on repeating in Shion's mind over and over again. The small room, which had felt so abandoned and cold before, suddenly felt filled and warm. Nezumi had thought that Shion had left. But it had felt like Nezumi had left.

Shion blinked a salty tear out of his eyes. It vanished into the folds of Nezumi's coat. Shion pulled his head off of Nezumi's shoulder, mostly, and waited for Nezumi to move his arms so that they could take a step away from each other. That didn't happen for another thirty seconds as Nezumi took several more deep breaths. Finally, his arms slid down Shion's body and landed at his sides, but he didn't back up. Feeling as though he would lose if he took a step back, Shion didn't move either. They stood, staring at each other, engulfed in silence once again.

Nezumi was the first to speak. "Where… Where were you?"

This was the perfect timing, Shion realized. Either that, or it was the worst timing in the history of the world. He decided to believe it was the former. He took a breath and opened his mouth.

"I was at a friend's house. A friend from work."

Shion saw confusion flicker across Nezumi's tired eyes. "Dogkeeper… he wouldn't hire someone else."

Shion shook his head. "He wouldn't. Didn't."

"Then…" Nezumi's molten silver eyes glowed.

He knows. But he didn't know it all. So Shion told him. "Dogkeeper laid me off for a while. All the dogs were rented out and there was nothing else to do. I found another job at a grocer's stall. I've been working there for a while now and I never told you." He almost added because I didn't want you to worry, but right then, that would have sounded like an excuse, even though it was the truth.

Nezumi blinked once. Twice. Then he closed his eyes with a deep, cold sigh. "I can't believe this…"

Shion bit his lower lip in nervous anticipation. "I… I'm sorry… I should have told you sooner, but… And then you said that you had done the same and… Should have told you then but I couldn't… I'm sorry…"

Nezumi sighed again, this time mumbling something under his breath.

"What… what did you say?" Shion asked tentatively.

"I said… IDIOT!" Nezumi's head snapped forward, bashing against Shion's forehead with a loud thu-dunk!

"Agh-OW!" Shion staggered back from the force and pain of Nezumi's head-butt and held his arms out to keep from losing his balance. He moaned and tenderly rubbed his sore forehead. "Owwwwwww… What… what was that for?!"

Nezumi was also rubbing his head. "Because you're an idiot, and now it seems like you're slowly turning me into an idiot as well."

"Hey," Shion protested, somewhat weakly as his head was still spinning with pain, "what is that supposed to mean?"

"It means that you're an idiot for not telling me in the first place, and that I'm an idiot for not telling you either, and that we're both idiots for making such a big deal out of it!" Nezumi groaned and ran a hand through his hair. "I would have told you straight up, but I didn't want you to worry."

Shion's heart jumped. "I… I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to worry, either. I thought that you might have pushed yourself too hard if you knew that I had gotten fired. Then I just couldn't bring myself to tell you even after I found a new job…"

Nezumi stared at him in disbelief. "Man. If I'm doing the same thing you are, I really must be becoming an idiot."

Shion tried to glare at Nezumi, but the beginnings of a smile betrayed him. "Hey. Stop calling me an idiot, idiot."

Nezumi smirked. "Then stop being an idiot, idiot." His grin lasted a few more seconds, but then slowly faded. "But, seriously, Shion. Don't ever do that again, okay?"

"Do what?"

"Go out overnight without telling me." He rubbed the back of his head and looked away with yet another sigh. "Truth be told, I'd rather you didn't go out overnight at all. You'd probably get yourself thrown off a cliff or something, don't ask me how. But you can't stay out overnight without telling me beforehand." He looked Shion dead in the eye, and there was no jokes in his eyes. "Got it?"

His voice was firm and commanding, leaving no room for Shion to protest. Not that he would have, anyways. He nodded. "Yeah, I got it."

At that assurance, Nezumi chuckled quietly, then, on impulse, leaned his forehead against Shion's, eyes closed. It stung slightly because of the bump from earlier, but it also felt comforting at the same time. Like something, or in this case someone, that would be there, always. Shion quickly decided that the nice outweighed the bad and didn't even consider moving away.

"Isn't it kind of funny?" Nezumi said, his voice enfolding Shion completely because of the close proximity.

His eyelashes are longer than I thought. Shion decided to keep that simple thought in his head as he asked, "What is?"

"This. All of it." Absently, one of Nezumi's hands moved to the back of Shion's head, weaving his fingers into the wisps of soft white snow of Shion's hair. "Both of us 'lying' about the same thing, both of us thinking the exact same thing at the exact same time without knowing what the other was thinking. Like a play by Shakespeare where the characters dance around each other in a comical, tragic dance while the audience watches on, either with amusement or frustration."

Each word brushed against Shion's cheeks and lips, sitting neatly within Nezumi's low, quiet breaths. "I guess that's true."

Suddenly Nezumi opened his eyes. Shion would have jumped, but Nezumi's forehead and hand stopped the startled boy.

"Don't lie to me again," Nezumi ordered quietly. His hand slipped from the back of Shion's head to his cheek. Two fingers traced the light red snake imprinted on his skin. "Promise me."

Shion tried not to fidget at Nezumi's tender touch. "Then…" He sucked in a slight breath as Nezumi's finger gently pressed against the skin right beneath his ear. "Then you have to promise me, too. Don't lie to me, either."

"Even if that means blowing your naïve, little mind?" Nezumi asked with a teasing smirk.

Shion resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Yes, even if it blows my naïve, little mind."

Nezumi's smirk melted into a smile. "Got it."

Shion took the smallest step back, not to escape from Nezumi's hand, though he did end up coming out from underneath the constant pressure of Nezumi's forehead, but to give himself enough room to hold up a hand, pinky extended.

Nezumi stared at his hand as if it were a block of cheese that had fallen from some alien planet. "…What is that?"

"'That', as you call it, is my finger."

"Obviously I know that, but… what are you doing?"

"Pinky promise."

"Pinky…" Nezumi sighed, shaking his head, and his hand dropped from the back of Shion's head in disbelief. "Are you serious? How old are you, five?"

Shion refused to back down. "C'mon, just do it…" Unconsciously, he lowered his voice and practically whispered, "Please?"

At that last plead, Nezumi rubbed his face with one hand, as if he did that all the time, which he didn't, but not before Shion caught sight of a faint reddish color tainting Nezumi's cheeks.

"Nezumi, are you-"

"Fine," Nezumi interrupted, somewhat harshly, before Shion could finish. He quickly held up his own hand, little finger jutting out. With a smile, Shion wrapped his finger around Nezumi's.

"So," Shion said, "no more lying?" He was smiling as brightly as the sun at this change in the situation: Nezumi had told him everything, he had told Nezumi everything, and they were back to normal again. No, not quite normal. It was different. Shion's heart felt warmer, lighter. It was… nice. Plus, he was laughing inwardly at the sight of Nezumi doing his best not to blush. So I'm not the only one…

"No more lying," Nezumi grumbled quietly, then nodded more firmly. "Because you suck at it and it's too much of a hassle."

"Hey! Stop ruining the moment, Nezumi!"

Nezumi's face twisted up. "What on earth are you talking about? We are not having a 'moment.'" He yanked his hand away.

Shion continued to beam like an idiot. "C'mon, we are so having a moment. Don't deny it."

Nezumi huffed. "There is nothing to deny."

"Why do you keep on denying your denial?" Shion teased.

"Nay, young fool, it is you who are denying the fact that my denial of denying the so called moment is not, in fact, a denial, so you are the one who is really denying a denial," Nezumi replied without missing a beat.

Shion stared at Nezumi blankly for a minute. His mouth moved slightly as he silently repeated Nezumi's words, trying to wrap his mind around them. It was obvious by the way his brow furrowed and he blinked repeatedly that he was totally and utterly confused.

Nezumi grinned like a cat closing in on its prey after playing with it for far too long and leaned forward until his eyes were only a couple of inches away from Shion's. "You are a hundred years too early to challenge me with words, Shion."

Shion stood his ground and returned Nezumi's stare without so much as blinking. Then, to Nezumi's amusement, Shion smirked his own little smirk.

"Guess I'll just have to challenge you some other way," he said.

Before Nezumi could figure out what Shion meant, Shion quickly leaned forward and planted a quick kiss on the tip of Nezumi's nose. Nezumi flushed bright red and stepped back in shock. Shion let out a little laugh.

"See?" He grinned slyly. "I win."

Nezumi glared at Shion, but it was more out of embarrassment than anger. "Seriously," he muttered moodily, "I look for you all night and all I get in return is… is… this."

"Wait." Shion reached out and grabbed Nezumi's arm. "You… you looked for me last night?"

Nezumi finally seemed to register that he had said that out loud. But he didn't seem to regret it. He nodded. "Yeah, I did. Like I said, you might have gotten kidnapped or killed. I didn't know. So…"

That explains the bags under his eyes… "I-I'm sorry!" Shion said, eyes wide. "I didn't realize…" He clenched his hands into fists and looked down at the ground guiltily.

Nezumi sighed and patted Shion's head. "Don't worry about it. I couldn't get to sleep without knowing that you weren't chopped up in some gutter somewhere." When Shion still didn't look up, Nezumi continued, "After all, it's your turn to cook today."

Shion smiled faintly. "I guess it is. But you must be exhausted. You get some rest, and I'll cook, okay?" He shifted his feet. "I feel really bad… It's my fault you were outside last night… I mean, something could have happened to you."

Nezumi chuckled. "As if. Like I said, don't worry about it. Nothing could have happened to me."

Shion bit his lower lip.

Nezumi sighed, seeing that he was getting nowhere. "We can call it even if you do one thing for me."

Shion looked up at this. "What is it?"

"You have to sleep with me tonight." Nezumi ordered seriously. "I was freezing my butt off outside last night looking for you, so tonight, you have to act as my personal heater."

Shion blushed at this. He didn't know if his heart could take sleeping in the same bed with Nezumi like that for a second time, but there was no way he could refuse. Besides, it's not as if it felt bad the first time… "Okay… Got it."

Nezumi smiled. "Good." He ruffled Shion's hair. "Then you can consider us even. So don't blame yourself anymore, okay?"

Shion nodded slowly. "Okay."

Nezumi's smile was broken by a yawn. "Ugh… I'm more tired than I thought…" His shoulders slumped as his body relaxed. "I'm just going to rest for a while… Make sure to wake me when the food is done."

Shion smiled. "Of course. Well… good night. I guess."

Nezumi frowned slightly. "I'll be awake in a few hours, so it's not really good night."

"Whatever," Shion huffed. He was about to turn away when Nezumi gently grabbed him by the shoulder and turned Shion towards himself. "Wha-" Shion stopped mid-word when Nezumi tenderly pressed his lips against the very corner of Shion's mouth in a long, warm kiss. Shion froze, his mind suddenly emptied of everything that he ever knew as his blood rushed through his veins like ice. Right before pulling away, Nezumi darted his tongue out and licked the edge of Shion's mouth. Shion opened and shut his mouth multiple times in failed attempts at speaking.

Nezumi smirked. "I win."


	11. Visitor's Day

For the second time within a week, Nezumi awoke with Shion snuggled up against his body, arms wound tightly around Nezumi's chest. The only difference between then and now was that this time Nezumi also had his arms wrapped around Shion, and his grasp was even tighter than the white-haired boy's. His left arm, draped over Shion's waist, was grabbing him-Nezumi assumed, in his freshly awakened mind, that the softness filling his hand was a tight bundle of Shion's shirt-and keeping the smaller boy firmly planted where he lay, almost as if Nezumi were protecting him. Or keeping him hostage. Nezumi wasn't sure which.

Nezumi's limbs were stiff, telling him that he had been locked in that position all night. Which was strange, considering that he and Shion had started out back-to-back. Not a bad sort of strange. Just… strange.

Nezumi shifted his arms and legs to get the blood flowing through them again. As he moved his legs, he discovered that his left leg was neatly nestled in between Shion's thighs, and when he moved that leg to try to get it free without disturbing Shion, he could feel it brush against his left hand. If his leg was in between Shion's thighs, but he could still feel it against his hand, then the soft curve his hand was cupping had to be-

Nezumi's hand immediately flew up to the relative safety of Shion's waist.

Shion, still asleep, wriggled a little at Nezumi's sudden movement. His thighs squeezed Nezumi's captured leg and his pale fingers curled into the back of Nezumi's shirt even more.

Nezumi sucked in a sharp breath through his teeth and cast all of his attention somewhere else. He tried to focus on the familiar aroma of the room he had been living in for years, but all he could smell was the subtle, clean scent flowing from Shion's hair.

He smells kind of sweet… Like freshly fallen snow…

Dang it.

Nezumi swallowed and gently pulled himself away from Shion, prying Shion's arms off of his torso so that he could sit up. He carefully maneuvered himself out from underneath the blanket he and Shion had been sharing and, making sure not to bump into Shion and wake him up, crawled to the foot of the bed before clambering out of the bed.

Finally free, Nezumi sighed and looked back at Shion. Even now he was still on his side, fast asleep, arms sprawled out in front of himself, blanket pushed down to his hips. As it was still morning and fairly chilly, though it had gotten far warmer the past few days, Nezumi skirted around the edge of the bed, grabbed the edge of the blanket, and tugged it up to Shion's chin. Nezumi could have sworn Shion's lips twitched into a momentary smile at that.

Ignoring the soft breaths of the naïve boy, Nezumi turned to face the larger part of the apartment. Out of the corner of his eye, he glimpsed a misplaced book on one of the many bookshelves and headed over there.

"What are you doing over here, Grimm's Fairy Tales?" He mumbled to the faded leather cover as he started to put it back in its correct place, then caught himself.

What on earth am I talking to a book for? He thought with a frown. It was just stupid, wasn't it?

No. Wait. He had always used to talk to his books, and they used to respond, in their own ways. It had been so long since he'd done that that he'd forgotten he used to do it at all. Now whenever he wanted to say something, no matter how trivial, he simply told it to Shion. Then Shion would respond in his own way. Sometimes Shion would merely nod, sensing that Nezumi wasn't really starting a conversation, just saying something to use his voice, to be heard.

Nezumi smiled softly. Maybe Shion was naïve. And maybe he was kind of… absentminded, or simple. But despite all of that, he was the only person who could read Nezumi.

Nezumi shook his head free of those thoughts as soon as he realized he was thinking them. Now he was starting to sound like… like some weird person from some weird book. He couldn't think of a good example at the moment. In a huff, he stalked over to the bathroom and took a quick shower, hoping that the hot water and steam would clear his mind.

It did the trick.

When he came back out of the bathroom a few minutes later, clad in a fresh set of clothes, he noticed, for the first time, the small brown bag sitting neatly atop of the coffee table, looking for all the world as if it had been there its entire life, and then some. There was a tuft of old, rumpled sticking out of the top, so the contents of the bag were hidden. Unless the newspaper was all the hidden treasure it contained. Nezumi stood there, staring at that little brown bag silently.

…How long had it been there? It couldn't have been too long or he would have noticed it, surely. A day at most. Well, maybe two. His brow furrowed. He had been kind of distracted as of late, so maybe it could have been there slightly longer…

It was probably Shion's. Correction: It had to be Shion's. No one else could get into the apartment. If it wasn't his, then they were in trouble.

And if it were Shion's, it would be rude to open it without permission. Nezumi glared at Shion who was still lying asleep on the bed, his eyes closed in blissful ignorance of the inner turmoil going on behind him. This was kind of odd since Shion was usually up by this point. He was probably having some nice dream about cookies and bunnies. Who knew.

Nezumi could simply wait for Shion to wake up before opening the mysterious bag. That would be the polite thing to do.

However, Nezumi wasn't really in the mood for waiting patiently.

But that's what he should do. It was definitely what he should do.

And that's exactly what he did not do.

Glancing over at Shion once more, just to make sure he was still asleep, which he was, Nezumi gingerly picked up the bag and held it out at arms' length if it would explode at any second. It was fairly heavy, so it couldn't just contain the bunched-up paper. He jiggled it a little. He could feel the vibrations of a single object being jostled around in the bag. He guessed, because of the way it fell against the sides of the bag, that the article inside was square, or rectangular.

Wait, Nezumi suddenly froze. What on earth am I doing?

He was acting like a little boy on Christmas Eve, trying to figure out what was inside each of his gifts, that's what.

At this sudden, horrifying image, Nezumi's face twisted up in disgust at himself. Dangit. What was wrong with him lately?

However, even this wasn't going to stop him from opening the bag. He pulled in his arm and grabbed the paper, which filled the room with a loud, crunching sound. He winced at the sudden noise and let go of the sheet on instinct. He had just started to grasp the paper again, this time not nearly as harshly, when he heard a yelp from the bed.

"Uwah, no!" Shion ripped the blankets off himself, leaped out of the bed, and bounded over to Nezumi. He snatched the bag out of Nezumi's hands and stepped away. "Wait!"

Nezumi stared at him, awestruck. "What?"

"You can't open it yet!" Shion said, somewhat out of breath from his little burst of energy. "It's…" He looked down at the bag in his hand and blushed as he obviously filled in the rest of the sentence in his head.

"'Yet?'" Nezumi inquired slyly, intrigued at this turn of events. "It's for me?" When Shion nodded hesitantly, Nezumi asked, "Then why can't I open it yet?"

Shion's blush deepened. "It… you…" He looked down at the floor and spoke so quietly that Nezumi could barely hear him mumbling, "It was for you to open yesterday, but… I forgot…"

Nezumi took a second to process this. "Wait, so, I was supposed to open it yesterday, and you stopped me from opening it right now because… it's for me?" He couldn't help but grin at the sight of the tips of Shion's ears, peeking out from swaths of white hair, turning red. "So you told me not to open it when I am supposed to open it?"

Shion's head bobbed up and down once in embarrassed agreement. "It's a Christmas gift," he muttered. "Since you gave me the tree… and I didn't give you anything in return yet… and then a friend said that maybe giving you a gift in return would… help us… make up… quicker…" His voice got smaller and smaller with each word he said.

Nezumi picked a single word out of Shion's little confession and tucked it away. He had to ask Shion about it, but that could wait just a bit longer. For now…

"So, can I open it?"

Shion took a step back, as if that would help his embarrassment go away. "Yeah. Go ahead." He held the bag out toward Nezumi.

Nezumi's grin widened and he dipped his head in a small, mocking bow as he graciously accepted the gift. "Thank you ever so much, your majesty, for gracing me with such an enormous honor."

"Shut up," Shion mumbled.

Worried that Shion might actually blow up if he turned any redder, Nezumi decided to ease up on his teasing assaults. For the moment, at least. Finally, Nezumi turned his attention back to the awaiting bag. Nezumi briefly contemplated making a big show out of opening the bag, but then decided against it as he was pretty sure that that would embarrass Shion over the edge. Plus, he just really wanted to see what was inside.

He pulled out the rumpled paper and frowned slightly at the sound; there was no real way to pull out a sheet of crinkling paper gracefully, so he probably looked kind of stupid. Great. Ignoring this brief lapse of the style he had worked so hard to cultivate, Nezumi reached in and pulled out a small, leathery book. Its brown cover was faded, not with use but with neglect, yet sturdy. He turned the book over and faded gold letters caught his eyes. He smiled.

"The Jack Tales," Nezumi murmured. "Wow, I haven't seen a copy of these in years, much less one as old as this." He flipped the book over in his hands. "It's in nearly perfect condition, too. Just kind of rusty. All the better."

"You mentioned it a few weeks ago, but I couldn't find it anywhere on the shelves." Shion's head titled upwards a little, just enough so that he could peek at Nezumi through his bangs. "When I saw that book, I immediately remembered you saying that you really enjoyed reading them, and then I just kind of… grabbed it."

Nezumi laughed softly. "Of course you did. I assume that you actually paid for it?"

"Obviously." Shion paused. "Well, technically. More of a barter, I guess…"

Nezumi chuckled again, reached out with his free hand, and ruffled Shion's hair. "Thanks. Really. I looked for a copy of these forever, but could never find one in decent condition. So, thank you."

"Hey," Shion objected half-heartedly as a way of diversion. "Don't treat me like a little kid." The fact that he wasn't trying to escape weakened his protest.

"Sorry, sorry. You just looked so pat-able for a moment there…" Nezumi ignored Shion's complaints to that response and inspected the book in his hands more. He ran his fingers alone the binding, pressing gently, and opened it up and glanced at the inked words, which were clear and bold, not faded at all in contrast to the cover of the book.

"Wow," Nezumi repeated in a hushed tone. "This is really well made. It could be fifty years old for all I know, but it feels as sturdy as if it was made by Vulcan himself only yesterday." He looked at Shion eagerly. "Where did you get this?"

Shion shifted his feet awkwardly and shrugged. "Uh… I'm… not sure…" he muttered.

"…What do you mean you're not sure?"

Shion cleared his throat. "Just that. I'm not a hundred percent certain where I got it. It was an odds-and-ends sort of shop. I'm just not sure which one…"

Nezumi sighed wearily. "Right. Well, how did you find this 'odds-and-ends sort of shop' in the first place?"

"My friend brought me there," Shion explained. "The owner owed him a favor, apparently, and so I actually got this book for technically free. I just…" His eyes widened. "Wait, what time is it?"

"Probably a little before noon or so," Nezumi answered after a moment's calculation. Shion visibly relaxed, then started to stare at a wall in blank thought, with no sign of a reply or explanation coming anytime too soon. Therefore, Nezumi decided to bring up a topic that had been stirring in the back of his mind for a while now. "You keep on mentioning your friend. Who are you talking about exactly?"

Shion was silent for a second more, then his head suddenly snapped and he looked back at Nezumi. "What'd you say?"

Nezumi's brow furrowed a little. "I asked who your friend is. The one you keep mentioning. I assume it's the same person, anyways."

"Oh. Right. He's just a friend from work. He was the one who instructed me on what to do and how to do it properly." Shion smiled a little. "Yesterday, he took me to that shop to find something to get for you. Then when I got really, really tired, he let me stay over at his house since it was nearby."

"That was nice of him," Nezumi responded stiffly. "Do you owe him anything now or did he just do it out of the kindness of his heart?"

Shion let out a small laugh, though Nezumi couldn't even guess which part was so amusing to him. "Well, he's not charging me money or anything like that. He just said-"

BADRUKBADRUKBADRUK.

Both Shion's and Nezumi's attentions were drawn towards the door where a series of loud, excited knockings were coming from.  
"What?" Nezumi asked aloud, not actually expecting an answer. No one ever came to their apartment. Well, no one except the little kids Shion kept on inviting over. But the knocks sounded too strong to come from a bunch of midgets. And so… who? Or what?

Shion mumbled something under his breath, then started to head towards the door.

Nezumi put a hand on Shion's shoulder and firmly pushed the smaller boy back a step. "No, I'll answer it."

Shion saw the way Nezumi's muscles had tensed up, the way his hands were curled slightly inwards, preparing for a fight if necessary. "Nezumi," Shion said, reaching out to grab his sleeve and stop him, "wait. I don't think-"

"Just be quiet a second, okay?"

Shion frowned at this, brow furrowing, but kept quiet anyways.

Nezumi stood to the side of the door a little, making it so that he couldn't be attacked face-on easily and have some slight advantage, carefully grabbed the doorknob and, twisting it, pulled the door in towards himself. He let go of it and it swung against the wall with a dull thud.

Nezumi found himself eye-to-eye with a pair of wide, caramel colored eyes peeking out from underneath a mop of dark brown hair. Nezumi looked over the stranger in a heartbeat. The stranger was a sturdily built boy with shoulder-length hair and skin just a few shades lighter than his eyes. In the next heartbeat, the intruder's gaze raked over Nezumi, taking him in, then his eyes met Nezumi's once again. Both caramel and silver glinted and narrowed dangerously.

"Who are you?" Nezumi's words were a low, threatening growl. He didn't like this guy at all. There was just something… off about him.

"Jean!" Shion's voice had both boys turning to look at him. His eyes were wide in surprise, but his smile indicated that it was in a happy, excited sort of way. He almost looked like some sort of puppy as he stared at the stranger.

Nezumi's hatred for the intruder instantly tripled.

"Hey there, Shion!" The new sounds drew Nezumi's attention back to 'Jean,' who was now donning a wide, bright smile while the smoldering glare from five seconds ago was nowhere to be seen. That was definitely not a good sign. "I just had some trouble finding this place," Jean continued, as if he could see straight through Nezumi and into Shion.

"Oh, sorry about that," Shion said with a faintly sheepish frown. "Guess my directions weren't that clear…"

"Nah, I'm just bad at following instructions," Jean reassured Shion with a rather annoying, dismissive wave of the hand, then turned to the only one of the three who didn't know what was going on. "You must be the infamous Nezumi." He stuck out one hand as his smile flickered imperceptibly. "I'm Jean, a friend of Shion's. It's a pleasure to meet you."

After a moment's hesitation, Nezumi reluctantly shook Jean's hand. "Same," he lied. "So you're his friend from his work?"

Jean looked at Shion with a raised eyebrow, who nodded at him with an embarrassed smile. Nezumi grit his teeth at this little exchange. It was obvious that Jean was asking Shion some kind of question, but Shion still understood it and replied. That got under Nezumi's skin much more than he would have ever thought.

"Yup, that's me!" Jean replied after far too long. "Shion's been a real help there. Plus, I think that with him working there, we get a few more lady customers." He waggled his stupid little eyebrows.

"That's not true and you know it," Shion scoffed. "And stop saying things like that."

Jean shrugged. "Hey, I call 'em as I see 'em. And um… not to be rude or anything, but, uh… it's kind of nippy out here, yeah?"

Nezumi was about ready to respond by closing the door when Shion tugged on Nezumi's arm and gestured for him to lean down. Nezumi did so and Shion whispered in his ear, "He wanted to come over and hang out here as payment for the book, and I kind of said yes. He said that he wouldn't come until later, and I kinda assumed that you'd be out at work by then... Sorry."

"I don't have work today, but it's fine," Nezumi replied, forgetting to whisper as he simultaneously tried to keep his voice steady. Why, exactly, would Shion try to arrange Jean coming over at a time that Nezumi wasn't there?

Jean, overhearing Nezumi's response, took his opportunity and stepped into the apartment, looking around. He let out a low whistle as his eyes landed on the rows of bookshelves. "Man, you guys must really like reading."

"They're Nezumi's," Shion said. "I also really love reading them, too, of course."

By this point, Jean had taken a step closer to the bookcases and for the first time, Nezumi noticed that he was holding a bag in one hand. "Charles Dickens, huh?" Jean brushed the tips of his fingers over the books' spines. "Dante? Wow, that's some deep reading. Or so I've heard, anyways." He turned back towards Shion and Nezumi with a broad, toothy grin. "Literature's never really been my forte. I mean, I like it and all, I've just never really been able to get the deeper meaning, yeah?"

"It's all really fascinating and amazing," Shion said excitedly, perking up. "Like Shakespeare, and Beowulf, and the Grimm Fairy Tales." He took a breath, then looked up at Nezumi, a glimmer of admiration in his eyes. "But I don't know nearly as much as Nezumi does."

Nezumi felt a pinprick of pride at this, but that pinprick was quickly stomped upon and ground into dust as Jean said, "Hey, Nezumi, why don't you and me talk about the finer works of literature, with you trying to convince me to read them, while Shion makes good the deal we made?"

Shion's brow furrowed in confusion for a second, then Jean held up the bag he was holding and his face lit up. "Oh, right," Shion nodded. "I forgot that bit."

"Which bit?" Nezumi asked, forcing the snarl out of his voice.

"Well, you see," Jean clapped his hands together, "I am a horrible cook. I can't even butter a piece of bread without mangling it or somehow burning it—don't ask me how it happens, it just does. So Shion promised to cook me a delicious meal, as long as I brought the ingredients." He shook the bag in his hand for emphasis.

Shion took the bag from Jean and peered inside it. "Great. I can make some creamy potato soup from this, if that's okay with you."

Jean ruffled Shion's hair. "Sounds fantastic." His hand lingered on Shion's head.

Nezumi's muscles tensed up and a fiery chill ran down his spine. Without even thinking, he lifted his arm to shove Jean's arm away, but before he could, Shion shook off Jean's hand on his own.

"Hey," Shion protested resolutely, "stop that already."

"My bad," Jean apologized, raising both hands, palms facing out, as a sign of defeat. "Couldn't help myself." He grinned.

Nezumi's eyes widened. Hadn't he just been doing the same thing with Shion a few measly minutes before Jean had showed up? Though Shion hadn't actually shaken Nezumi off like he did Jean, it was still… Nezumi bit the inside of his mouth. He didn't know what it was. But whatever it was, it made his jaw lock into place and made his fingers tighten into a fist until his nails started to cut into his own skin.

I'm not the same as Jean.

The thought had just barely had time to flash in and out of Nezumi's mind when Shion took a step back. "Well, you guys can hang out on your own. It shouldn't take me too long to make the soup." Shion smirked. "Try not to have too much fun on your little date, okay?"

Nezumi froze instantly. Glaring at Jean out of the corner of his eye, he saw that the brown-haired boy had the same petrified look of horror on his face. Jean quickly recovered his senses and smiled.

"As if we could ever have fun without you." Nezumi could obviously see that Jean was trying to regain control of the situation by saying this, but it was plain to see that he was failing because of the uncertainty of his smile.

Shion faltered a little as he sensed the tension that he had inadvertently created. He looked up at Nezumi, and Nezumi was forced to stop sending daggers at Jean to look at Shion. The corner of Shion's mouth twisted up in a weak, desperate half-smile as his red eyes silently pleaded with Nezumi.

Oh.

This was Shion's first friend that he had made without first being introduced through Nezumi since Shion had left No. 6. Nezumi was not the same as Jean. Jean was something-someone-else entirely to Shion. And while that thought alone made Nezumi want to punch a wall, he did owe Shion a little. If Shion was silently asking him for a favor, then, well, Nezumi would help. It didn't matter who he had to deal with.

This time, anyways. Shion had given Nezumi a book he had been aching for forever. Pretending to be somewhat nice would then repay that debt. That was all this was for. Repaying a debt.

Nezumi briefly ran one hand through Shion's hair, knowing how much it annoyed him, and leaned in to whisper in Shion's ear.

"Now we're even."

Before Shion could ask what he meant, Nezumi turned towards Jean. While Nezumi didn't even attempt to smile at Jean, he did, however, distinctively not glare at him and even raised his eyebrows to try to not look like he was about to boil someone alive. There was no way he could act all nice and polite. But he could at least try to exist in the same room as Jean without ripping his stupid little head off.

"So," Nezumi said, somewhat stiffly, "what kind of literature do you like, Jean?" Shion let out an inaudible sigh of relief, and then turned and took three steps to enter his and Nezumi's 'kitchen,' leaving Jean and Nezumi to talk amongst themselves.

Jean's face contorted with confusion at this change. Nevertheless, he took his cue. "Ehhhh, not any in particular, I suppose. I do try to read some poetry from time to time, though." He waggled his eyebrows suggestively. "It tends to impress the ladies."

Nezumi shuddered at the thought of someone reading poetry for a revolting reason like that; it was kind of like going to a beautiful beach just to stay inside the hotel and sleep all day. No, that wasn't quite accurate, for that meant that the person in question didn't really do any damage. Reading poetry only with the intention to seduce some girl was as if someone went to a beautiful beach and then poured toxic waste into the ocean. Poetry itself was tarnished by people reading it for that reason.

Nezumi, of course, didn't let any of these thoughts show on his face. He instead gestured towards the rows of bookshelves. "We have some books of poetry here. Ever hear of Walt Whitman?" He started to walk down the bookshelves' main aisle.

Jean started after Nezumi after a moment's hesitation. "Yeah, I think so. The name sounds familiar, anyways."

Nezumi turned to go down the second to last row of books, Jean following right behind him. Nezumi briefly acknowledged the fact that he was, for all intents and purposes, trapped in that aisle as Jean filled the opening with his presence. He wasn't in the best of situations, but he highly doubted that Jean would suddenly try to attack him. Besides, Jean didn't look like much of a fighter. He'd be fairly easy to subdue, should the worst occur.

Nezumi tucked these thoughts away in a corner of his mind, just in case, and stretched one arm up above his head to reach one of the higher shelves. "Here's a collection of some of Walt Whitman's more famous poems, if you're interested." His hand had barely landed on the spine of the book he had just mentioned when Jean's cold voice stopped him dead in his tracks.

"How much have you done with Shion?"

Nezumi stared at the books in front of him, his hair and raised arm shielding his face from Jean. "What do you mean by that?" Nezumi asked steadily. Jean's question in and of itself was simple and straightforward, even if it was somewhat embarrassing and out of place, but the way Jean had asked it…

"Nothing much, really," answered Jean. "He just seems like the type that draws other men to him, whether he wants it or not." He chuckled shamelessly. "He certainly seems like he's really skilled and fast, too, y'know what I mean?"

Nezumi's blood was already starting to broil as he slowly turned his head. Jean was casually leaning against the same bookshelf Nezumi was reaching for the book from. Jean's arms were crossed over his chest in a very laid-back sort of way, but the cheerful smile that he had been wearing just a few minutes earlier was gone and was replaced by a dark, crooked grin; two small pools of caramel glowered from underneath the shadows cast by his long hair.

Nezumi stood up straighter. "What did you just say?" He didn't even bother to cloak the hostility in his voice.

"You heard me just fine," Jean replied in a low tone. "He looks and acts so innocent and pure, after all. He's probably driven dozens of men crazy. I mean, who could resist? So I was just wondering whether you do it yourself or just let others have at him. Maybe a little bit of both, yeah?"

Nezumi's arm fell to his side without making a sound. With two long strides, he was close enough to Jean that he could hear the breath of the brown-haired boy rustling through the still, cold air. Nezumi looked Jean dead in the eye, daring the other boy to be the first to move away.

"Say anything even half as repulsive as that again and I'll rip both your arms off." Nezumi's words were shards of lightening blanketed with that deadly calm that comes before a storm. His sharp silver eyes reflected the flicker of hesitance and uncertainty that passed across Jean's features.

Jean's warped grin returned in an instant, however. "Fine. I get it. No need to get all mad and threatening. You just want to keep Shion all to yourself. Alright. I can understand that since he looks like he feels absolutely amaz—"

He choked on the words he was about to say as Nezumi's arm shot up and his fingers curled into the soft flesh of Jean's throat, efficiently cutting off his windpipe. Jean gasped for air for a long second, then grabbed at Nezumi's elbow and, with surprising strength, yanked it down. Nezumi was forced to let go of Jean's neck and ended up losing some of his balance from the sudden vigor of Jean's pull. In the fleeting moment before Nezumi could totally regain his footing, Jean took a swing at Nezumi's face. Nezumi managed to dodge the brunt of the blow by taking a small step back while simultaneously swerving his head, though the corner of his jawbone still took some of the hit, and counterattacked with a hard kick to Jean's gut, using the newfound space between them to do so.

Jean staggered backwards with a groan, tumbling out into the main aisle, and had just barely managed to keep himself from falling down completely when Nezumi caught up to him and effortlessly swept one leg out from beneath him. Jean landed on his rear and had just enough time to wince and look up again when Nezumi crouched over him, grabbing Jean's collar and twisting it hard enough to make it almost impossible for the pinned boy to breathe.

"Hey!"

Nezumi didn't dare take his eyes off of Jean, nor did he have to to know that Shion must have heard Nezumi's and Jean's brief struggle among the bookshelves and had come running over to see what was going on. Nezumi loosened his grip on Jean's collar a little—just to give the defeated boy the minimum air he needed to survive—as he heard Shion's rushed footsteps coming closer to him.

Unsurprisingly, Shion carefully tugged at Nezumi, trying to pull him away from Jean. Nezumi yielded, having expected this from the beginning, and stood up, releasing Jean.

"Shion," Nezumi began, though he had no intention of apologizing, "I—"

"What did you do to Nezumi?"

At this iced voice, the two taller boys looked at Shion with surprise written clearly on their faces. Shion's face, on the other hand, was as hard as stone, his smoldering red eyes threatening to melt his snowy hair as he steadily glared down at Jean, who visibly swallowed.

"I said," Shion repeated slowly, each word dripping with hardening icicles, "what did you do to Nezumi?"

He had stopped Nezumi from attacking Jean, but it had never even occurred to Shion to actually blame Nezumi, this much was plain to see. Even now, Shion had unconsciously put himself a tad in front of Nezumi, creating some sort of barricade to protect him; as if Nezumi needed protecting. Nevertheless, this small act was enough to calm Nezumi down every so slightly.

Jean met Shion's eyes for a long, long moment. And then he smiled softly and happily. This annoyed Nezumi more than anything the brown-haired boy had done that night because this smile seemed one hundred percent genuine.

"I was just performing a little experiment," Jean said as though that were a perfectly full explanation. "It was all my fault. I'm very, very sorry. Don't worry; something like this will never happen again."

More sincerity, as far as Nezumi could feel, anyways. Jean's outright honesty pacified Nezumi a little, though he did his very best to fight it, and Nezumi's initial anger lessened. Jean was telling the truth. Only the greatest fool would have been unable to sense it. But another anger began to blossom inside of his chest because of Jean's authentic apology and promise. He just couldn't get what was running through Jean's stupid little head.

Shion, too, was appeased by Jean's genuine words, and his eyes and expression softened as he looked up at Nezumi. "Well?" he asked, giving Nezumi the final verdict even though most of his own anger was gone.

Nezumi chose not to say anything, instead holding a hand out to Jean, who accepted it. Nezumi hoisted Jean back up to his feet, then tugged him in close enough to growl in his ear.

"If anything like this does happen again," he whispered darkly, squeezing Jean's hand hard enough to cause the victim to bite his lip to keep from whimpering, "I promise you, you won't live to see the next sunset."

A shiver ran down Jean's spine, but he was grinning again as he pulled away from Nezumi, letting go of his hand. "Good thing it won't," he replied, loudly enough so that even Shion could hear. "Well, it looks like I've overstayed my welcome. Or perhaps I was never really welcome in the first place, yeah?" His laugh made it sound as though nothing had ever happened.

Shion may have been mollified, but he still didn't smile back at Jean, nor did he even try to deny what Jean had said. "If you say so."

Jean's laughter and wide grin faded away. He looked at Nezumi. "I really am sorry, yeah? I didn't mean any of it. I just… had to be sure."

"Sure of what?" Nezumi asked hesitantly.

To Nezumi's eternal horror, Jean slung an arm around his shoulder and carefully maneuvered them a little ways away from Shion, just enough so that the white-haired boy couldn't hear Jean's low voice. "Frankly, I was worried for Shion. Whenever he spoke of you he acted kinda weird and made it sound like he was going to get in trouble for coming home late from work and stuff like that, y'know what I mean?"

Some small part of Nezumi realized where Jean was going with this even as Nezumi nodded reluctantly.

"And so I thought to myself, 'Hey, Shion seems to be a pretty sweet kid, the kind that a lot of creeps would absolutely love to get their hands on. Maybe one already has, and so now poor little Shion is being abused or something or another.'" Jean shrugged as though he were simply wondering whether or not it was going to rain the next day. "And he does have that that freaky scar going on, so it all kinda made sense. So I decided that I would see if the guy he kept on talking about—you, of course—was really some creep like I suspected he might be. I'm sure you understand, yeah? At least, you seem like the kind of guy who's peeked in the windows of some of the darker buildings out here, y'know what I mean?"

Jean's caramel eyes were smiling, but behind that layer of jocund laughter, there was the barest waver of the shadow that haunted the eyes of the majority of the people in the outer city. No doubt Jean knew what he was talking about.

Nezumi gingerly plucked Jean's hand off of his shoulder. "So you say you were just looking out for your younger co-worker?"

"Yup, that's it!" Jean shifted feet sheepishly. "I guess I went a little too far, huh?"

Nezumi's jaw set. "I'd say you went more than just 'a little' too far."

"I did, didn't I?" Jean scratched at his cheek. "I guess you two probably hate me now, yeah? Well, can't really blame you, can I?" His bright smile contradicted his words. "That's okay, I guess. At least I don't have to worry about Shion anymore. I can see what you two think of each other, and I know that you're nothing like those creeps." His smile morphed into a smirk as he leaned in towards Nezumi once again. "But don't take that to mean the same as having entirely pure intentions. Though that's not a bad thing."

Jean's lighthearted teasing brought to Nezumi's mind the memory of that morning when he had first awoken with Shion clinging to him. A faint red haze covered the tips of his ears and threatened to go to his cheeks, but he shoved as much of it as he could away.

Jean saw Nezumi's silent struggle and laughed heartily. "Well, I better be off," he said, once again letting Shion, who had been watching their conversation with a wary eye, hear him. "Enjoy the food." He started down the aisle, being extra careful not to brush up against Shion as he passed the shorter boy.

"Wait," Shion said, following him out into the 'main room' with Nezumi coming up behind him. "You need to have some food. I owe it to you, after all."

Jean shook his head. "No need. I'd feel guilty taking it after the trouble I caused you two. We're even now, yeah?"

Shion accepted this. "Got it."

"See ya later then." Jean gave them a small wave, then opened the front door and left, shutting it behind him with the softest of clicks.

Shion and Nezumi both stood there silently, staring at the door until Jean had been gone for well over five minutes. At last, Shion let out a long, dreary sigh.

"Well," he mumbled, "that could have gone better." He offered Nezumi a tired, apologetic smile. "Sorry about all of this, Nezumi. It's my fault."

Nezumi shook his head and ruffled Shion's hair caringly. "Don't apologize. It wasn't your fault." He looked at the door one last time, tasting his next words very carefully before voicing them aloud. "He… Jean isn't… bad. Just… a little… unique in his methods. He meant well, anyways."

Shion faintly perked up at this, even with Nezumi's hand still weaving through his hair. "What do you mean by that?" There was a faint hope in his voice, one that he himself probably didn't even know was there.

"I mean that he'd be a good friend," Nezumi finally said.

Shion started to smile, but then his smile melted into a frown. "But… what did he do to you earlier? Why were you two fighting?"

"He didn't do anything," Nezumi relented. "I was the first one to actually start the fight. He just… said some things." He could feel his blood began to burn once again at the mere memory of Jean's ugly words, but then he remembered Jean's reasons, and that anger went away, if rather slowly. "Some very, very disgusting things. But he meant well."

"What'd he say?"

Nezumi looked into Shion's wide, curious eyes. Shion hated the fact that he was almost like a child to the people in the outer city, but actually, it wasn't nearly so bad as he thought it was. Normally, Nezumi hated ignorant people. But when it was Shion, who really was doing his best to learn and grow, it was actually rather endearing.

Nezumi smiled playfully, and planted a gentle kiss on Shion's forehead. "I'll tell you when you're older."


	12. The Final Day

"Hey, wait, Nezumi!"

Nezumi turned around, his hand suspended in mid-air as he was just about to open the door and leave the apartment. "Yes?"

Shion was standing a few feet away from him, book in hand. "When is your theatre's production of Romeo and Juliet going to show? I want to watch."

Nezumi wasn't prepared for this question. It was still fairly early in the morning, so he hadn't expected that Shion would do anything more than wish the taller boy off with a smile, like always.

"Why this time in particular?" asked Nezumi. "You never asked before."

"You never let me before," Shion protested. "Besides, I just thought... well, it's still technically the holiday season..."

"What do my performing and Christmas have anything to do with one another?"

Shion bristled at the tone in Nezumi's voice. "I just thought that it'd be nice to go see a play once in a while, and people are always a little perkier around Christmas, and I've heard that the actors tend to put little more energy into their acting. Also, you probably have a free ticket or two to give to family and friends. Thus, it's best to go to a play you're in around the holidays."

"It sounds like you already had that little speech prepared," Nezumi smirked while trying not to laugh. "Although you already know that the next play I'm performing in is Romeo and Juliet, so wouldn't it make the play somewhat worse if all of the actors were giddy with the holiday cheer? Imagine Romeo poisoning himself while humming "Deck the Halls." That would certainly be a play to remember."

"I didn't say that they'd be 'happier' while performing," Shion countered calmly, "I just said that they'd have more energy. Imagine Juliet stabbing herself while staring at Romeo's dead body blankly and speaking with no rhythm or emotion whatsoever. That would certainly be a play to wipe from your memory."

Nezumi visibly shuddered at the very idea. "Well played, Shion," he gave Shion a little pat on the cheek. "Well played. And as your reward for a good argument, I'll tell you that the play is actually tonight. To tell the truth, by now, I'm probably going to be late for the beginning of last-minute rehearsals and stage prep. Oh well."

Shion's eyes widened. "Tonight? That soon? Ah, never mind that," he added swiftly, pushing gently on Nezumi's arm, "Hurry up and go already. I don't want to get you in trouble with the director."

Nezumi waved Shion's worries away with a hand. "It's okay, really. He won't even notice." He sighed in resignation and reached into one pocket. "If you really want to come, then you can. You were right about the tickets," he admitted graciously as he handed Shion a slip of paper, "you lose it, you can't get in, got it?"

Shion nodded eagerly as he accepted the paper. He stared down at it, reading the simple words printed on that small flier. "Got it." He looked back up at Nezumi with a wide, bright smile on his face. "I'll see you tonight, then."

It took Nezumi a second to tear even just a snippet of his attention away from that shining smile. "Hey," he muttered, still not totally focused, "do you want to come backstage after the play? You've never been back there yet. It's not uncommon to have friends of the actors or crew go back there, so it wouldn't be any trouble."

The smile froze for a second, and then was filled with an even brighter light than before. "Really? That'd be amazing!" Shion replied, a whisper of awe fluttering about his voice.

The rest of Nezumi's mind finally started to catch up. "Now you can see that there's more to the theatre than just the actors. You should probably take notes." Nezumi grinned. "You never know; there just might be a quiz later."

"And what would happen if I fail said quiz?" Shion asked after a playful groan.

"Naturally," Nezumi answered sternly, his teasing grin falling away, "you'd be sentenced to a public flogging, followed by imprisonment for six to eight months."

"Ah, well then." Shion nodded seriously, crossing his arms. "Looks like I'd better be extra meticulous in today's note-taking."

"I expect to see improvements in all of your notes," warned Nezumi, "or else I'll be forced to find other ways of punishing you."

Shion stood up straight and saluted. "Yes, sir!"

Nezumi didn't let so much as the corner of his mouth give away the smile he was holding back. "I expect to see you tonight at eight o' clock sharp! Don't be so much as a second late!"

"Yes, sir!"

Nezumi nodded and Shion's arm fell back down to his side, though his posture didn't slacken. "Right, then. I'm off."

Nezumi opened the door and stepped out into the dank hallway. The door was just about to close when he heard Shion's voice-back to normal once again-from the other side of the door.

"Have fun!"

Nezumi paused, then closed the door without saying anything back. He stood there for a moment, hand on the doorknob, looking down at the ground. Soundlessly, he smiled faintly, then turned and walked away. The smile remained on his face long after he arrived at the theatre.

"Oomph!"

There were so many people bustling outside the doors of the theatre, it was hard for Shion to breathe. He kept on getting jostled about and had been elbowed so many times that he feared seeing how many bruises he'd gained.

Nezumi said before that there wouldn't be that many people, Shion recalled vaguely as he did his best to not step on people's feet. Because of the harsh winter and all.

But maybe that's why there were so many people waiting to enter the theatre. The cold winter and the food and firewood shortage only meant that people needed more joyful moments than ever. They needed some sign of hope, some sign that there was something else going on in life besides just work, work, work, work.

Of course, the play was Romeo and Juliet, a tragedy, but still...

"Hey... hey, Shion! That you?"

On instinct, Shion turned towards the voice calling his name. The voice was saying something else, but he couldn't understand it. Through the cracks between one person and the next, Shion managed to make out a tall figure making its way towards him.

"Hey! C'mon, is that you, Shion?"

Eventually, the figure got close enough for Shion to recognize that mess of brown hair. "Oh, Jean!" He responded only when his co-worker was within arm-length.

"You could have said something sooner," Jean panted, already tired from trying to push through the crowd. "You could have at least let me know that it was you, yeah? I know you saw me."

"Maybe I did." Shion's answer was teasing, but also kind of wary. Nezumi had said that Jean wasn't a bad person, that he would make a good friend. But that didn't change the fact that Jean had still made Nezumi angry enough to physically attack Jean. What had they been fighting about anyways?

"I know you did, you jerk." Jean punched Shion lightly on the arm. "Luckily for me, your hair sticks out like a sore thumb." He chuckled. "Whatever that means. Around here, everyone's thumbs are sore."

"I guess so," Shion agreed, looking down at his own hands. They were still rather soft, and had yet to develop the callouses that covered the hands of everyone in the lower city. He decided to change the topic by asking, "What are you doing here anyways, Jean?"

"Isn't it obvious? I'm here to see the play!"

"Oh, you like Shakespeare?"

"It's amusing," Jean replied without really answering the question.

"Even Romeo and Juliet?"

Jean's smile twisted a little. "In a way. Not amusing in the comedic sense, but amusing in the darker sense that they were so close to being happy together, but then died by their own hands, next to their beloved, because of a slight misunderstanding." The twist in his smile melted away. "But as I said yesterday, I'm not one for the deeper meaning. At the very least, it's a good way to pass the time."

Shion nodded slowly. "I suppose."

At this lull in the conversation, Jean looked around. "Hey, where's Nezumi? Isn't he with you?"

"Ah, he's-" Shion quickly clamped his mouth shut. Nezumi didn't really like people knowing that he was Eve, and Shion had a feeling that Nezumi especially didn't want Jean to know. "He's busy with work," Shion finished, inwardly smirking at the fact that he wasn't lying in the slightest.

"Too busy to make the show? A pity." Jean's rapidly widening grin didn't make it look like he truly meant his words. He wrapped one arm around Shion's shoulders. "Guess I have you all to myself then, yeah?"

Shion stiffened. "D-didn't you come with someone else?" he asked weakly. Then, realizing that he sounded rude, he quickly added, "I wouldn't want to impose on your time..." But it was too late.

Jean looked hurt, like a puppy that had just been scolded for jumping on the bed. He drew his arm back. "Ah, I didn't... But hey, man, that's fine." He smiled a pointless smile. "I understand what you mean. I really am sorry about yesterday, Shion. I was just worried, yeah? I mean the way you spoke about Nezumi kinda weirded me out sometimes, and then," he vaguely gestured toward Shion's neck, "when I saw that hickey on you, I thought he was some creep trying to 'show that he's mine' or whatever. It's in an obvious, visible place, after all. I figured it was be some twisted way to publicly embarrass you without him having to be there."

Shion's brow furrowed. "What? What are you talking about?"

Jean stared at him, and even though there were other people talking and shouting, Shion could hear Jean's silence perfectly. "Don't you... didn't you notice?" Jean asked after a moment. Getting no response, he pointed to a spot on the back of his own neck. "Here. On your neck. You have a hickey."

"A hick-" Shion's hand flew up and he desperately twisted his head around, as if he could see his own neck. "What?! I-I do not!"

The corner of Jean's lip twitched into an almost half-smile. "Well, it's all but gone by now... But man. For it to have lasted this long, you must have been bitten pretty hard, yeah?" He lowered his voice. "If he's hurting you like that and you don't want it, you can just tell-"

"How could I have a hickey?!" Shion demanded of no one, apparently not having heard Jean at all. He was still jerking his head around in a panicked frenzy. Jean quickly reached out and clapped one hand on either side of Shion's head, forcing the younger boy to keep still.

"Don't do that!" Jean scolded. "You're going to hurt yourself!"

"B-but! How do I have a..." Shion trailed off as his eyes slowly fell to the ground. Ah. A few nights ago, when he and Nezumi had shared the bed because of the cold. Nezumi had wrapped his arms around him from behind and...

Shion's face instantly flooded with an alarming shade of red. His eyes were dull in comparison and his pale-red scar was lost.

Jean grinned shamelessly. "Remembered something, have we? So, are you going to tell little 'ole Jean how that mark came to be upon you?"

Shion shook his head violently. Or at least, he tried to. Jean still had a hold on his head and Shion barely managed to nudge the brown haired boy's hand the slightest bit. Shion would've sworn, then and there, that his hair was about to catch on fire just from how boiling hot his face was right then. Had anyone else seen the mark? Had everyone else seen it? How hadn't Nezumi? They were usually pretty close...

"Whoa." Jean's eyes widened slightly. "You just got a shade redder. Did not know that was possible!" He laughed openly and loudly. The people around them glanced at them; Shion stared at the ground and hoped that his shaggy hair was enough to hide his face from the onlookers.

Jean's hands fell from his head once his laughter has subsided. "So... am I... off the hook? Just a little bit?"

Shion looked up. Jean was still smiling, as always. But there was something else in that smile, and that 'something else' was reflected in his eyes; or maybe it started in his eyes and was reflected in his smile. It wasn't regret. If he was going to regret what he had done, he wouldn't have done it in the first place; that's just how he worked. No, he was sad. Sad, but yet... content. Sad that it had all turned out this way. Content that he had done his best to help his co-worker and friend. He had fought with Nezumi. Shion might never know what had actually occurred in those bookshelves, but Nezumi had more or less forgiven Jean, even if he hadn't quite phrased it like that. Was that enough?

Maybe it was. Maybe it wasn't. Shion didn't know enough to decide whether it was enough for life's balance of misgivings.

But it was enough for him.

"Yeah," Shion said, "You're off the hook." Jean's face lit up like a Christmas tree and he had just opened his mouth to speak when Shion continued solemnly, "On one condition." Jean's face fell, just a little, but he closed his mouth and patiently waited for Shion to finish. Shion paused, forcing Jean to stand there silently.

This is kinda fun, Shion thought idly. I feel kind of powerful. Is this what Nezumi always feels like when he touches me like...

He forced those memories and thoughts out of his mind before he could flush again and glared up at Jean. "You have to do something for me."

Jean nodded, still keeping quiet.

"You have to take me back to that store where we found The Jack Tales. Promise?"

Jean blinked. "That's... that's all?"

"Yup!" Shion smiled his widest, brightest smile. "There were other old-looking books there. Nezumi likes that kind of thing, so this time I actually want to know how to find that store again so that I can take him some time."

Jean grinned, already back to his old self. "Planning to go on a romantic date, yeah? Old books aren't really what I'd do, but hey, if he likes them, then..." His words trailed off as he winked.

"What? No! That's not..." The blush returned to Shion's cheeks, though not quite as hard this time, but Shion bit back the rest of his protest. It would only fuel Jean's teasings. Well, he wouldn't fall for it this time. "Whatever you say, Jean," Shion said.

Before Jean could reply, the crowd suddenly surged forward as one body, almost knocking Shion off of his feet.

"Careful," Jean warned, grabbing at Shion's shoulder to steady him. "The doors must have opened." He waggled his eyebrows as he and Shion moved with the crowd. "I hear there's an actor here that's really good, has his own little fan-group even. Name's Eve. You ever hear of him?"

Shion bit back a warm smile. "Yeah. I think I've heard of him once or twice."

Jean and Shion continued to speak about this and that as they were steadily pushed up to the ticket counter. Jean paid for his ticket, Shion gave his to the vendor, and then they were in. They both only had tickets in the main area, not anything fancy like the balcony. They didn't need anything fancy, anyways.

The filed in with everyone else and sat down in seats in the one perfect row that was close enough to the front to see and hear everything clearly, but just far enough away so that they wouldn't have to be craning their necks up to see the stage.

I wonder if Nezumi will be able to see me, or if he'll even be looking, Shion wondered as he sat down next to Jean. Of course he won't be looking. He's in the middle of his job, after all! Well, job and hobby, I suppose... still.

"Hey," Jean nudged Shion, "what's with the face?"  
"What?"

"You look like you swallowed a rotten worm." Jean frowned slightly. "You feeling okay?"

Shion nodded. "Yeah! Of course! Just... I didn't think there'd be so many people. It's kind of stifling. Like, what if there's people who'll talk during the performance? That would be annoying."

"Hopefully there won't be," Jean agreed. "I want to actually focus on the performance, yeah? If there are people like that, I hope that others around them will tell them to shut up."

"SHUSH!"

Both Shion and Jean jumped in their seats as the person in front of them suddenly whipped his head around to shoot daggers at them. It was then that they noticed that the lights were already dimming and that silence was quickly cascading down the aisles of the theatre. The two boys flushed in embarrassment and mouthed their apologies, but the man had already turned back around.

Then the curtains opened, and the play began.

Shion was still reeling from the deafening applause that had thundered through the theatre at the final curtain fall, but he was too excited to care about his ringing ears.

"That was amazing!" he beamed happily, bouncing from foot to foot as he stumbled through the crowd.

"That... That was pretty amazing, yeah..." agreed Jean with awe. "I never knew Shakespeare-some old play-could be like that. Gah, I nearly cried at the end... But don't tell anyone that."

Shion grinned. "I won't so long as you keep on my good side."

"Curses!" Jean snapped his finger in mock frustration. "There goes my plan to torment you for all eternity!"

Shion laughed. A second later, the two of them ended up at a small section of the theatre just outside the doors of the main auditorium, but where it was slightly less lit and not quite as crowded. They both leaned against the wall, staring into the bustling throng of people, some of which turning astray to head to the restrooms which already had long lines trailing out in front of the doors.

"It's been a while since I've seen Shakespeare performed," Shion admitted. "Mostly Nezumi and I just read Shakespeare's plays together and talk about them." He snorted. "And by talking about them, I mean mostly Nezumi mocking me through the plays for not knowing everything about the plays or not having them all memorized as he apparently does."

There was an audible silence from Jean, then he sucked in a breath. "...Is Nezumi really as good a guy as you said he was?"

Shion was taken aback. "What? I mean... He's always just poking fun at me. He isn't mean to me or anything. You know. Just some friendly teasing and banter. He does know more about a lot of more practical or more literary things than I do, anyways, so I actually learn quite a lot from him!" He smiled up at Jean, who in return, sighed.

"Well... That's good. Just..." he reached out and ruffled Shion's hair. "Be careful, yeah? Nezumi kinda reminds me of this one guy I knew a while back. And things with this guy... Well..." Jean shrugged, and turned his gaze back towards the swarming mass of bodies. "Things didn't really turn out all that great, yeah?"

Shion cut himself off right before he asked "what happened?" It took him a second to remember that the people living outside of the citadel of No. 6 had led completely different lives than he had. Nezumi had led a darker life than he let Shion know about, so it shouldn't be too surprising that Jean had his own sordid memories. He had the feeling that it was probably far better to let it be.

"I understand," Shion said, swallowing his guilt of not really understanding on a personal level. "But... Nezumi is... I trust Nezumi."

Jean's smile was a twisted shadow. "Whatever you say, Shion. I think you're right, but... Maybe I'm just kinda paranoid, yeah?" He pushed himself away from the wall and looked back at Shion, his normal, charming smile already back. "So, you gonna head back home now?"

"Not immediately. I have some other plans first." Shion did his best to bite back a dopey smile as he thought about his 'other plans.'

"Oh? Sounds like fun. Want a companion?"

Shion hesitated. "I don't... I mean, Nezumi-" Luckily he didn't have to worry about whether he was giving away Nezumi's past-time since he was jarred out of his place by someone all but running straight into him from the side. Shion let out a yelp as he was barreled into and fell back against Jean, who didn't really catch him so much as not fall down in turn.

"Owowow hey!" Jean called out as he awkwardly stumbled back against the wall.

"S-sorry..." Shion stammered as he straightened himself back up, not really paying attention to Jean.

Shion looked to see who had run into him and was met with a head of platinum blonde hair atop a small, pale frame an inch or so shorter than Shion's own. A young man dressed simply in a baggy shirt and pants.

"Hey," Shion said, reaching a hand out towards the dazed figure, "are you okay?"

The young man's hair was covering his eyes, but Shion could still see him flash a white toothy grin before darting away. Shion watched him for a second, then shrugged and turned back to Jean.

"That was..." Shion blinked at the sight of Jean's eyes nearly bursting out of his skull as he stared after the fleeing figure. "Weird," Shion concluded, no longer just talking about the young man.

"I... I think..." Jean swallowed hard. "I have to go, yeah?"

"D...Do you know that person?" ventured Shion.

"Yes. No. Maybe?" Jean shook his head with a groan. "I couldn't quite see him all that well, but... Maybe. I don't know." He took a step back. "I'll catch ya later, yeah?"

"Yeah," nodded Shion, giving a small wave. "Cya later, Jean."

Jean nodded back, then turned and dove into the crowd, trying to weave in between the bodies in the direction the blonde young man went, but with an overall failure. Shion watched Jean struggling for a few seconds, being both confused and intrigued by the past minute, then remembered his previous engagement, and swiftly turned on his heel to the right and headed down the long hallway towards where the stage would be in the main auditorium just on the other side of the wall to his left. He really should've asked Nezumi where, exactly, he was supposed to go and what he was supposed to do... A little too late for that now. All he could assume was that the backstage was... Well, behind the stage.

After a few seconds of walking through the dimly lit hallway, he saw a door to his left. On the door was a simple sign that read "Employees and Actors Only." Shion took a deep breath and rapped his knuckles on the door loudly, hoping for the best. A few moments later the door swung open, letting the sounds of chatter, laughter, and the occasional cheer tumble out from the other side. Shion froze when he saw who had opened the door.

"I'm sorry," the brown-haired man, still clad in his Shakespearean attire, said with a gentle smile, "the backstage is for staff only. If you need anything..." The man's brow furrowed. "Wait. Do I know you? You seem familiar..."

Shion's mouth gaped open. "Uh... I don't... Think so?" He instinctively took a step backwards.

"Oh, yeah," the man said with a snap of his fingers. "You're one of Eve's friends, right? I remember seeing you in the theatre a few days ago." He chuckled. "As if I could forget that white hair."

"You must be Ander, then," responded Shion dryly. "Neee-Eve mentioned you." Naturally Shion recognized Ander in his costume to have been the one who played Romeo. Shion knew that Nezumi and Ander never really kissed, but it still made Shion's chest prickle a little, meeting Ander face-to-face.

"Did he now?" Ander grinned. "What an honor. Anyways, I assume Eve invited you backstage, so c'mon in before anyone catches you." And with that, Ander stood to one side with a gracious sweep of his arm.

I guess all actors are dramatic offstage, Shion noted quietly. He forced a smile as he stepped inside, closing the door behind him. "Thanks, Ander." He took a long look around, the irritating prickle being swept away by the excitement of seeing what really went on behind each and every play.

There was a large amount of painted backgrounds-castles, fields, houses, forests, every background imaginable-piled against walls; in the corners and under tables were boxes brimming with assorted props such as staffs, clocks, plastic flowers, fake swords and daggers. The tables themselves, of course, were cluttered with papers and smaller props. Even more astonishing than the backgrounds and props were the people bustling around further into the room. It was really an amusing sight, actually. There were men donning the billowing, ostentatious garments of the Shakespearean era with arms amicably slung around men and women donning modern black t-shirts and casual jeans. Everyone was talking and laughing amongst themselves and no one was doing anything that looked remotely like work. The relief and joy of a play well-performed was so tangible that the air itself tasted sweet and made Shion smile as well. The air also tasted vaguely sweaty. Ah, well.

Shion turned back to Ander. "Everyone seems happy."

"Of course," Ander agreed with his own wide smile. "The play couldn't have run any smoother than it did, knock on wood."

"That's good," Shion nodded. "And, um... Do you know where Ne... Eve is?"

"He said he was gonna change outta his costume. Should be over there somewhere." Ander gestured to a door past where the main clump of people was standing.

"Great, thanks!" Shion nodded again and headed off. A few of the smiling actors and crew glanced at him as he passed by, but no one said anything to him or stopped him. A second later he was standing just outside the closed door Ander had pointed him to. The red chipped, painted text on the door said 'Changing.'

As Shion stood there, waiting, he saw another door a few feet away with the word 'Costumes' painted on it. It was open just a sliver, letting a little stream of golden light trickle out. He hesitated for a second, debating about how much trouble he could get in if he went in there. Then his curiosity got the better of him and he stepped away from the changing room and gently pushed open the costume room's door. He didn't step in all the way, just to be safe, but he ducked his head inside.

There were rows and rows of hanging garments from various eras. Naturally, there was a lot of Shakespearean costumes spread throughout the room, as were tunics and chain-mail for Medieval-style peasants and knights respectively. There were soft gowns with feathers or with beads dangling off of them. To Shion, it all looked like a huge mess. A golden dress was pressed up against a sickly green shirt and skirt; next to them was a shiny, metallic vest. It just looked like a jumble of random, strange clothes. Then Shion noticed the tags on each of the articles of clothing, and the different dividers on the racks. Clearly, someone knew how to navigate this vast forest of garments.

Shion jolted when he was knocked on the back of the head-not hard enough to really hurt, but more than enough to startle him into jumping a little and letting out a strained yelp. He heard an all-too familiar chuckle behind him.

"Oy," Nezumi said, giving Shion's head another rap, "where do you think you're going?"

Shion turned to face Nezumi. "I wasn't gonna go in. I was just looking."

"That's what all future criminals say," Nezumi teased, affectionately ruffling Shion's hair with his free hand, the other hand gripping his costume slung over his shoulder.

"Is that what you told yourself before you came into my room and threatened to kill me four years ago?"

A pause. "I doubt it." Nezumi's gaze drifted past Shion, his eyes darkening. "Back then, I was going to do whatever it took to survive. I didn't even think about anyone or anything."

A shiver ran down Shion's spine. Shion swallowed hard at the thick, twisted air they were now engulfed in. He forced a small smile. "Guess you aren't a criminal, then."

After a long moment, Nezumi blinked, his eyes clearing. He looked at Shion once again and his silver eyes softened. "Guess not. Better step up my game."

Shion cracked a grin. "So, are you going to give me a tour of this place or what?"

"Yeah. I just have to check in my costume." He nodded his head at the gown over his shoulder. "Though, truthfully, there isn't much to see."

"But isn't the backstage where the true performance takes place?"

"It's where the truth of the performance takes place," Nezumi corrected, stepping past Shion and into the costume room. He looked at Shion over his shoulder. "The true performance, the true theatre, is always in the words and in the actors, never the building. Remember that."

Nezumi slipped out of sight before Shion could react. So Shion was left to stand there, Nezumi's words swimming around his head. Shion leaned back against the wall, stuffing his hands into his pockets as his gaze slowly swept the room. He didn't see anything; he was too busy thinking and remembering and processing to see. Before he knew it, he felt a tap on his shoulder. With a smile, he lifted his gaze up.

"That was fast, Nezumi." The words had slipped from his mouth before he could be startled by the long, dirty blonde hair in front of him.

The girl laughed when Shion jumped and started to stutter an apology. "No worries," she said with a smile, waving his apologies away with a careless hand. "So you're a friend of Eve's? He's never brought anyone with him before, so it's kinda shocking…"  
"Ah, yeah, he's usually rather cold to a lot of people," agreed Shion with a faint chuckle. "But he's actually really nice once you get to know him."

"Really?" The girl blinked quizzically. "I would never have guessed. He rarely talks to anyone outside of the theatre and he's always just kinda… dark. But not in a bad way!" She quickly added. "And I've always admired his work as an actor! He's truly amazing. I've always wanted to get to know him better, but never really knew how…"

Something in Shion's chest was twisted with just a little bit of… pain. His hand curled into a fist as he tried to ignore it. "I don't think I've ever felt like that around him, but… I guess all you have to do is just start talking to him. Just be yourself."

"Thanks for the advice!" The girl smiled happily and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. Suddenly she flushed a little. "Oh! I never even introduced myself!" She stuck her hand out. "I'm Aimee! It's nice to meet you."

"Oh, umm…" Shion shook her hand awkwardly. "I'm Shion. It's nice to meet you, too." It'd been a while since he'd had such a straightforward introduction that he couldn't help but join Aimee in flushing, just a little bit.

Before Shion could say anything else, he felt something gently nudging his side. He turned and saw Nezumi, donned in his usual attire. He had his hands stuffed in his pockets as he elbowed Shion.

"What're you doing?" asked Nezumi dryly. He didn't so much as glance at Aimee.

Aimee swallowed hard, her blush refusing to leave her soft cheeks. "Hey, Eve, I was just introducing myself to Shion here."

Nezumi's eyes flickered towards her for a second, but they were hard as steel. She took a step back, perhaps unknowingly, and her flush faded. "I see," was all Nezumi said.

Shion sighed and elbowed Nezumi back. "Warm up a little, Mr. Ice," he said playfully in an attempt to bring some cheer back to the conversation. "No need to be so frosty."

Nezumi blinked. "If I'm 'Mr. Ice,' as you said," he mused, "then you telling me to 'warm up,' means that you want me to melt and die. How kind of you."

Shion rolled his eyes. "You know that's not what I meant."

"But that's what you said."

Aimee chuckled, cutting off Shion's next response. "It's nice to see that you two are such good friends," she smiled and tilted her head a little. She took another step back until she was just on the edge of a doorway. "Well… it was nice meeting you, Shion."

"Wait," Shion said, leaving Nezumi's side to stand in front of Aimee. He dipped his head and lowered his voice to the barest of whispers, knowing that Nezumi could hear really well. "Sorry for how he acts… He just… is." He smiled apologetically. "I'm sure he'll warm up to you over time."

Aimee's cheeks reddened at their close proximity. "Thanks," she whispered back. "I kind of doubt that, but it's a nice thought."

"I don't doubt it at all." Each word pummeled against his rib cage, yet he still managed to get them out.

Another girl, dressed in the same black clothes as Aimee, passed by them on the other side of the doorway. At first she merely glanced at Shion and Aimee, but then she did a double-take. A slow grin slunk over her features and she turned to face them.

"Oooooh, Aimee, look where you're staaaanding," she giggled mischeviously as she rocked back and forth on her heels.

Aimee, confused, looked around, as did Shion. It only took a moment for Aimee's eyes to be cast upwards and her flush to return in a rapid storm at the sight of the small green branches above them. Her flush must've been contagious because when Shion saw the twigs as well, a blush also tainted his pale cheeks.

The second backstage girl started to sing-song, "Aimee and Pale Boy, standing under mistletoe. K-I-S-S-I-N-G." At this point, Nezumi stepped up to join them, his face drawn and his jaw set.

"C'mon, Rachel, stop that," complained Aimee.

"It's tradition," Rachel continued in her sing-song tease. "You hafta kiss, hafta kiss, hafta kiiiiissss."

"We don't-" Shion started to say, but he was interrupted by Nezumi's arm wrapping around his shoulders and his hand turning the shorter boy's face towards Nezumi's own and his lips captured Shion's.

Shion was so caught off guard that his red eyes were wide open and they locked with Nezumi's burning steel eyes. Nezumi calmly watched Shion as his tongue slipped past Shion's slightly-parted lips. Shion shivered from the surprising warmth of Nezumi's tongue and his hands feebly clutched at Nezumi's sides. Their lips parted a little and their breath mingled in the small space between them for a second. Nezumi's lips brushed against Shion's one last time, his tongue flicking out just enough to lick Shion's upper lip, before the taller boy finally pulled away.

Nezumi directed his gaze at the girls, who, needless to say, were standing there speechless. "Happy?" His low voice was hot and husky. Without waiting for an answer, he dropped his hand down from Shion's jaw to wrap around his lower back and started directing the two of them to the door Shion had come in.

Shion realized that he hadn't been breathing and started to gasp as they left the backstage area. "Wa-wait!" He panted as Nezumi continued to pull him along towards the exit of the theatre. "Nezumi! Sl...Slow down!"

It wasn't until Nezumi had dragged the two of them outside and to the shadows guarding the entrance of the alley next to the theatre that he finally stopped. His dark eyes quietly watched Shion catch his breath.

When he could finally speak again, Shion swallowed hard. "What… what was…"

"Tradition," Nezumi answered simply. "Kissing under mistletoe, you know."

Shion's heart thumped painfully. "You… you didn't…" His voice dropped to an almost shameful whisper. "You didn't have to do that, then…"

"What do you mean by 'that'?" The glint in Nezumi's eyes told that he obviously knew what Shion meant.

"Th… you didn't have to use your tongue…"

"Why? It didn't feel good?"

"I-" Shion bit his lower lip, trying to get rid of the echoing sensation of Nezumi's lips. "It's embarrassing," he confessed. "You could just do that kinda thing with other people standing right there… You'll still have to work with them. Won't it be super awkward?"

"Doesn't matter." Nezumi shrugged, then the glint in his eyes brightened. "But… it was just embarrassing?"

"I… I g-guess?" Shion spluttered awkwardly.

Nezumi stepped closer to Shion, his hand gently cupping Shion's chin. "So you wouldn't mind doing it again?" His thumb traced Shion's reddening lower lip.

Shion's breath caught in his throat. He barely managed to choke out, "Don't have to now, though."

"It'd be a shame to only kiss when others are watching…" Nezumi murmured just under his breath and Shion wasn't sure whether he heard correctly or not. A little louder, Nezumi asked, "And if I want to?"

Shion really didn't know how to respond, mostly because he didn't know how much of this was Nezumi teasing him and how much was… real? Ah, of course. It couldn't be more than Nezumi teasing him… Much more than that would be presumptuous of Shion at best, arrogant of him at worst.

But… Shion could feel a very, very faint tremble through Nezumi's soft grip on his chin. Nezumi's thumb was calloused and hard, but still sent soft vibrations through Shion's lip… Shion shoved this thought aside. Nezumi was always teasing him. Whether Nezumi was teasing him or just tired and not thinking straight, Shion was determined to get the upper hand in this.

Shion gently grazed his teeth against Nezumi's thumb, looking up at the taller boy with half-lidded eyes. "Then do what you want."

Nezumi's eyes widened and he sucked in a sharp breath. Accepting the invitation, he tilted Shion's head upwards dipped his head just enough to carefully touch his lips against Shion's. The kiss was so tender it made Shion's stomach flip. And when Nezumi tugged on Shion's lower lip with his teeth, it nearly drove Shion insane. He had to hold back a moan when Nezumi started to suck on his lower lip. Nezumi kissed Shion full on the lips one last time, then leaned forward to hover just over Shion's ear.

"You'll make a criminal out of me yet, Shion," he whispered slyly.

When at last Nezumi let fresh air separate them, Shion's cheeks were burning a furious red and his lips were glistening. He stared at nothing, his eyes cloudy and distant. Nezumi watched the white-haired boy's dazed reaction for a few minutes, then chuckled. He started walking away, elbowing Shion on the way. Shion was slowly pulled from his trance and his eyes naturally followed Nezumi, who looked back at him over his shoulder.

"C'mon," Nezumi called. "It's getting late."

"Ah, right…" Shion stumbled a little, just barely managing to catch himself before heading after Nezumi.

The two had barely taken five steps, however, when Shion felt a tiny, cold fluff falling on his cheek. He looked up and smiled.

"Hey, look," he gestured towards the sky. "It's snowing again."

Nezumi also looked. "Sure it is. I just hope we don't get another blizzard like before…"

"We'll be fine," Shion said firmly. "A little more snow to whiten up the holidays is nice."

Nezumi reached back and tugged on Shion's hair. "You have more than enough white to whiten up the holidays."

"Not as if I'm just going to share my hair with everyone." Shion laughed, shaking off Nezumi's hand.

"That would be quite the task," Nezumi agreed. He slowed his steps down a little to stare up at the sky more. "Maybe a bit more snow wouldn't harm us."

Shion smiled and stepped up next to Nezumi. Side-by-side, they walked together, the soft snowflakes slowly spiraling to the earth around them. Even as the snow started to pile up, they didn't exchange a single word and walked in a peaceful, perfect silence that blanketed them like the fresh spring sun blankets an open field, as their spring sun soon would.

"A bit more snow wouldn't be bad at all," Nezumi muttered when Shion had already gone inside their small home. "Maybe the holidays aren't so bad after all."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, here's the end of uploading my old fanfic!  
> I had another fanfic in mind for No. 6 that I wanted to write, and even seeded some of the basis for in this final chapter... but I don't know if I'll get around to that. I have my own stories I'm working on, my art, school, and other fanfics that I have actually started to write and will probably never finish. :)  
> But yeah, this was really fun to write. Hope y'all enjoyed it!


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